


Voyager Fictober 2020

by The_Elephant_in_the_Pride_Parade



Category: Star Trek: Voyager
Genre: Chakotay (Star Trek) Crashes A Shuttle, Christmas Fluff, Domestic Fluff, Episode: s03e10 Warlord, Episode: s04e04 Nemesis, Episode: s07e25 Endgame (Star Trek: Voyager), Established Relationship, F/M, Fictober 2020, Gen, Human vs. Borg Efficiency, Humor, Ice-Skating, Maquis bodyguards, Miral is best goddaughter, Post-Episode: s07e25 Endgame (Star Trek: Voyager), Rated T for Tease, Snowmany, The 37s AU, belanna is ticked off, even captains need hugs, fine is banned from sickbay, he meant wisdom, janeway deserves a dog, janeway needs her coffee, ship's business, side effects of coffee substitutes, tuvok vs. chakotay, tuvok's eyebrow game is strong, twinkletoes - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-01
Updated: 2020-11-16
Packaged: 2021-03-07 19:34:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 27
Words: 22,866
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26742955
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/The_Elephant_in_the_Pride_Parade/pseuds/The_Elephant_in_the_Pride_Parade
Summary: 31 oneshots, 31 days. For Bizarra, who encouraged me to give this a try.
Relationships: Chakotay/Kathryn Janeway
Comments: 162
Kudos: 154





	1. "No, come back!"

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Bizarra](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bizarra/gifts).



**"No, come back!"**

Chakotay woke up a half hour before the programmed alarm and fumbled for his combadge on the nightstand. "Computer," he whispered, "reset wake up alert. Mute acknowledgement."

Then he rolled over towards his bedmate.

His favorite reason for waking up early was getting to watch Kathryn sleep. He smiled at how relaxed she looked; the lines on her face from years in command were softer when she slept. Her mouth was open slightly. And her auburn hair, normally strictly managed in a well ordered bun or twist, cascaded wild and free over her face and pillow. He couldn't resist the urge to trace his hand over the soft tresses. 

Kathryn stirred. One arm emerged from beneath the covers, seeking his warmth. 

Even after six months, Chakotay still wasn't used to this. He hoped he never would be.

For now, he carefully folded back the covers and slid out of bed.

"No, come back," Kathryn whined. Her hand caught the waistband of his boxers, but Chakotay easily slipped out of her reach. Kathryn sighed in her sleep. Her hand flopped onto his pillow and she rolled towards it, limbs clinging to it like a koala. "Stay," she ordered.

Chakotay laughed quietly, adjusting the covers to keep her warm. He kissed the top of her head and tiptoed out of the bedroom.

Kathryn, despite decades running on a military-strict schedule was just about a bear in the mornings. It was an intimate sort of secret that he relished knowing. Chakotay savored any glimpses of Kathryn normally hidden by her rank and perfected discipline. 

He was getting very good at his new morning routine. The coffee had been ground and pressed the night before. He left it to warm up in the replicator. It gave him just enough time for a quick shower and a check of the day’s agenda. Chakotay sorted the messages that had come in for him and Kathryn from most to least important and then returned to the kitchenette. He put the carafe of coffee on a tray with cinnamon oatmeal for himself and toast and fruit for Kathryn, then he carried it and a padd with the most important messages back to the bedroom.

Kathryn was still hogging the middle of the bed, keeping his pillow hostage. He set breakfast down on her bedside table and sat atop the covers beside her. He took his mug, cream and sugar already in it, and filled it while keeping one eye on Kathryn. 

The smell of pouring coffee wafted through the air; Kathryn hummed and turned towards him. Chakotay stifled a laugh.

Five minutes later he saw her wrinkle her nose, always the first sign that she was about to wake up. He poured her cup of coffee just in time as she groaned in protest of the early hour.

"How are you already awake?" she grumbled as she sat up slowly.

"I like an early start," he said, and held her coffee under her nose. "Here."

Kathryn curled her hands possessively around the cup. She bent her head towards it and breathed in the heady aroma. She moaned. "I love you." 

"Me and the coffee love you too," he teased.


	2. "That's the Easy Part"

“Okay,” Chakotay nodded his approval as he watched Kathryn turn the old fashioned oven to the correct temperature and slide the dish of perfectly kneaded, rolled, and shaped pie dough and precisely mixed and measured filling onto the rack. 

She dusted off the apron and looked over the mess on the counter, nodding in satisfaction. “You know that was not as hard as you and Tuvok made it sound like,” she said, bending down to admire the slowly baking masterpiece. “This was much easier than programming that glorified toaster.”

“Oh that’s the easy part.” Chakotay said, a wicked grin spreading across his face. He clapped her on the shoulder and turned to leave the holodeck, he looked back at her, saying: “Now you have to guess what point to take it out.” 

Kathryn paled and a nervous sound escaped her throat as she eyed the old oven with more trepidation than a green ensign facing down a Borg cube. Chakotay left howling with laughter. He had a fire extinguisher and a spare pie on standby.  



	3. "You Did This."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> After i wrote this i noticed the original prompt has a question mark. but i'm really attached to this one, so we're gonna keep ignoring that.

“ _Janeway to Chakotay._ ” 

He stirred and checked the time as he grabbed his commbadge off the nightstand. It was barely two hours into gamma shift.  “Chakotay here, Captain.” he said.

“ _Meet me in the shuttle bay._ _ Immediately _ .” 

He gulped at the tone of her voice. And held his commbadge gingerly as though it might explode from her apparent ire and hastily dressed.

As he approached the shuttlebay, he saw the away team walking towards him and his concern increased. They weren’t meant to be back until Alpha shift. 

“Evening Ensigns,” he said in greeting.

“Sir,” they said. 

He noticed they looked a bit singed around the edges. He raised his eyebrows. “Complications?” 

“I don’t know what happened, Sir,” the Ensign Jenkins, who’d been assigned to lead the mission, said. “E-everything looked fine.” 

“The ion storm came out of nowhere,” Ensign Macauley added. “It was _massive_. But it didn’t even show up at all on sensors.” 

Chakotay assured them they’d do a full systems diagnostic and advised the Ensigns to get a good nights sleep. “Did the  _ Sacajawea  _ take damage?” 

The nervous look the three Ensigns traded answered his question far better than their “it got a little banged up,” response. He bid them goodnight and hastened even faster towards the shuttlebay.

His first view when the doors slid open was of Kathryn: arms linked behind her back, standing in full uniform, ramrod straight, clenched fists betraying her mood.

Then his gaze moved past her to the shuttle the nervousness in the pit of his stomach increased ten fold.

The  _ Sacajawea  _ right nacelle had been shorn off, along with a chunk of the hold, and lay in a sad heap off to the side. One of the thrusters was still smoking and the shuttle door lay open, revealing exploded consoles and a carpet with a char pattern running right down the middle.

“I checked the logs,” Kathryn said, voice stony. “You stopped by the shuttlebay right before the mission.” 

“N-neelix had submitted a last minute addition to the supply request,” Chakotay said. “Comms were down for maintenance, as you’ll recall. It seemed more efficient to run it over myself.” 

Kathryn let out a long suffered sigh. “Did you  _ touch _ the shuttle.” 

He gulped. “I didn’t go inside.” 

“Chakotay,” she warned.

“I touched the door,” he admitted.

Kathryn turned the cold full force of her glare on him. “Every. Time. You get near my shuttles…” she said. “Every time.” 

“It was an ion storm,” he tried, tugging his ear.

“No,” Kathryn stalked up to him. Looking far more intimidating than her small stature would suggest. Chakotay was shivering in his boots. “ _ You did this _ .” She pointed at the ruined shuttle. 

He sighed. “This is not my fault,” he lamented.

“No, but it is your luck.” Kathryn said. She poked him in the chest. “Five shuttles. In five months. I’m done taking chances with you. We're delegating away mission organization to Harry from now on.” 

He nodded, rubbing a hand over his face. “Me with the shuttles and you with the replicators.” He looked down at her. “We might be cursed.” 

“We might be,” she agreed.  


“I’ll assign a team to start repairs first thing in the morning.” 

“Good,” Janeway nodded, patting his arm as then she leaned in and grinned wickedly, whispering: “And I’ll need your rations for coffee until repairs are done.” 

He gaped. “Oh, _come on_ Kathryn,” he looked back at the ruined shuttle. “You can’t actually punish me for this?” 

“I suppose not,” she said. She winked at him. She made her way towards the doors and called over her shoulder “But if you get me coffee, I might forget to tell B'elanna that you touched one of her shuttles.” 

Chakotay groaned and glared sulkily at the latest shuttle to get him into this mess. “what did I ever do to you?” he complained as he stalked after Kathryn.


	4. "That Didn't Stop You Before"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trekflower has accused me of being a tease... and she's 100% correct! ;)

"Coffee?" Chakotay asked, already heading to the replicator to get it. After a mission de-briefing with Admiral Hayes, Kathryn always needed a strong cup.

She groaned. "No thanks; it's late," she said, hand rubbing her neck as she unbuckled her belt and tugged off the stiff uniform jacket. 

He looked at her askance. " _You_ don't want coffee?"

Her poker face snapped into place as she looked him right in the eye and said: "I've finally given the Doctor's advice some consideration."

Chakotay snorted. "That will be the day." he shook his head. It was late, he certainly wasn't going to insist. "How about a glass of wine, then?" he said.   


"I… shouldn't." Kathryn averted her gaze. She moved to the couch and sat down with a sigh, reaching for the book on the coffee table. "I have an early meeting tomorrow."

Now he went to yellow alert. "That didn't stop you before…" he said as he sat down next to her. "On _Voyager_ we'd have two or even three glasses after some dinners and still be up for duty."

"You could, you mean," she tried to argue. 

He shook his head. "Kathryn, you could drink me under the table" He took the book from her despite her protestations, set it on the coffee table, and took her hands. The knot in the pit of his stomach grew as he traced the familiar lines on her palms, then weaving his fingers through hers where they fit so perfectly. He took a deep breath. "Is something… wrong."

Kathryn paled. "No! no no," she assured him and cursed. She squeezed his hands. "Sometimes I don't want coffee, Chakotay"

"Name one other time."   


"With… the first Prixin!"

"That was the coffee substitute with the worms; it doesn't count." Chakotay tilted his head at her. He was still concerned. After all, he realized, she'd voluntarily gone in for a physical two days ago and barely been home since. "Are you sure something isn't wrong? Did the Doctor say something the other day?"

"Just the usual," she said. "Chakotay - really I'm fine."

"You're still not telling me something." he said. 

She frowned. "Aren't I allowed to have secrets?" she demanded, switching tactics. "Moving in with me does not entitle you to know everything, you know."

He narrowed his eyes. "You don't want alcohol or _coffee_ … you went to the doctor two days ago. And now you won't tell me something." After a beat, his eyes widened, his expression transformed from concern to excitement as he looked down at her lap and then up at her face.

"Chakotay," she said in a warning tone.

"Kathryn… are you -."

She leaned over and kissed him to shut him up. "It is your birthday in three days!" she lectured. "You're going to spoil your present."

Suddenly he pulled back and stared at her, grinning. "Are you-"

"Shhhh!" She pressed a finger to his lips. "You'll find out in 3 days."

"I don't want to wait that long." he protested. He kissed her finger and then grabbed and kissed her wrist. He continued laying kisses all the way up her arm as she began to giggle. "Please. Tell me. I want to hear it."

"I am not going to cave to this kind of insubordination, Captain!" she sputtered. 

"Please." 

"No-ahh!" she gasped as he found the sensitive spot under her jaw. "Ohhh."

"How long have you been… working on this present?"

"I… three weeks and.. Two days." She mewled and arced her neck, shifting to straddle his lap. 

"The night I got back from Endar III?" He hummed. "I thought you were very eager that night." He ran his hands over her waist, thumbs framing her belly, lingering there. 

"Are you saying I'm not usually eager?" She wiggled on his lap, trying to distract him.

He shook his head. "You're perfect. Don't change the subject." He looked pleadingly at her. "Can’t we celebrate my birthday early?" he asked again. "I want to hear you say it."

"No." she insisted. "I have… plans. And you're not messing them up." 

He sighed. "Fine," he laid more kisses along her neck and collarbone.

"However… if you want to continue trying to make me tell you..." her hand threaded through his hair. "I wouldn't be opposed."

He grinned and stood, picking her up and hitching her legs around his hips." You're sure?" he teased. "I can be very... persuasive."

"Positive."

"Was that an admission?"

She groaned and tugged his hair back so she could kiss his lips. "Shut up and get on with it!"


	5. "Unacceptable, Try Again"

Chakotay nodded to the busy staff in Engineering to carry on as he made his way to the Chief's office. They barely gave him a second glance by now. It had been a few months since she'd broken Carey's nose, and he'd gotten into a habit of swinging by to check in on how she was faring now that she was in charge of people as well as a warp core.

Her office door was closed. As Chakotay neared it, he heard the unmistakable frustration in her raised voice.

"Unacceptable. Try Again."

He furrowed his brow. A few original Starfleet staff within hearing range were looking nervously at the closed door. He looked in the little window into the office and saw B'elanna waving a padd in front of a young Fleeter.

"You think this is an executive summary!" she fumed. "The conclusion of your fuel efficiency study isn't even put forth until page... two! and the concerns I raised from your proposal are only addressed in the annex." She shook her head, scrolling through the padd. "Do you regularly submit reports to your commanding officers with this many comma splices?"

"The report is just fine," the Fleeter, Ashmore, tried to say. "I-I graduated from the academy with honors, you know."

"Then I'm glad I quit, because this is atrocious. You want me to send this up to the Captain like this? I guarantee you: if I don't have time to sift through this mess, she won't." B'elanna thrust the padd at the ensign. "Write it again. The Starfleet Style Guide has some tips for report writing you'd do well to look at."

"Y-yes, Sir." Ashmore hung his head and shuffled out, grumbling. "I didn't think the Maquis were so concerned with grammar."

"Well it's a good thing we're not on a Maquis ship, or I'd use that report to beat you on the head." B'elanna picked up the next padd on her desk. "I don't tolerate sloppy work, Ensign. if you have a problem with that, you can take it to the Captain." She raised an eyebrow at him. "Do you think _she_ wants to hear you defend this executive summary - or this many comma splices?"

Ashmore’s eyes widened. "Um. No, Sir."

"Good." She picked up the next padd on her desk. "Clean that up and have it on my desk by Beta shift."

"Yes, Sir!" he squeaked, dashing out so fast he didn't even notice Chakotay grinning as he waited beside the door.

He let B’elanna sit, reading at her desk for a few moments as he leaned on the open door frame. When it had been a whole minute without acknowledgement, he spoke up. "I see you've been brushing up on your reading." 

Her head snapped up; her cheeks tinted pink. 

"The Starfleet… _Style Guide_."

"Security is run by a Vulcan," she defended. "I'm not gonna have my department handing in sloppy work." 

His grin widened.

" _What_?"

"I'm just thinking what your academy professors would think of you now."

"So I care about grammar?" B’elanna crossed her arms. "That doesn't make me a Fleeter!"

He shook his head. "I came down to tell you the senior staff is having a get together on the holodeck at 17:00. Neelix suggested more group activities would build crew unity and I think he's right. The Captain's suggested a round of Velocity games."

"I'll be there." She grinned. "I hope the Captain doesn't mind losing to me."

"We'll see about that." Chakotay said. He tilted his head. "The Captain also wanted an update on how things are going down here.”

"Oh don't tell her about this!" B'elanna said. "You should read that report, Chakotay. He had it coming!"

"I'm going to tell her you're doing just fine," he said. "She'll be happy to hear you're setting a good example for your officers."

"I, they're not my..." B’elanna sighed. " _FINE_. They're my officers. and I don't care how many honors they earned at the academy. I expect perfection in my engine room. including on reports." She huffed. "That doesn't make me a Starfleet… busybody"

"Like I said." He nodded. "You're doing just fine." He turned to go and called over his shoulder: "the uniform suits you." 

The office doors slid shut while B'elanna was still sputtering her indignation.

She'd brought much needed discipline to the _Val Jean’s_ small, chaotic engine room. He'd known she could manage this if given the opportunity. She was shaping up to be a fine people manager and a fine Starfleet officer, though she was loath to admit it.

"Hows Engineering?" the Captain asked when he returned to the bridge.

"Still some growing pains," he said as he took his seat. Chakotay then smirked and leaned across the console, keeping his voice low. It irritated the hell out of Paris whenever he couldn't hear what they were saying. Chakotay delighted in such opportunities. 

The Captain leaned across her side so that she could hear him.

"Ensign Ashmore is brushing up on the style guide," Chakotay said. "I heard the Chief is very picky about her executive summaries." 

"Really?" The Captain's right blue eyes glittered with amusement. "And here I thought Carey was the one editing those reports."

"I told you she'd surprise you."

"I'll say." The Captain looked over her shoulder at Tactical and then leaned closer to Chakotay so that her lips almost brushed his ear. An excited shiver went through him, but he tried to tamp it down. She wasn't trying to be enticing, he reminded himself. Vulcans just had excellent hearing. The Captain whispered in his ear. "Do you think she could edit Tuvok's as well?"

It was perhaps not so professional to giggle on the Bridge. As evinced by Tuvok's sky high eyebrows. But when one is commanding that bridge seventy thousand light years from any superior officers, there are a certain few privileges one is afforded. 


	6. "That was Impressive."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Several of you have reached out asking for a Chapter 4 follow up. This is not that, but I am definitely going to write one at some point this month.  
> there's humor in here, but some analysis of Kathryn's depression from Night as well, because I dont think just escaping the void would magically make that go away.  
> Anyways - enjoy Day 6!

“Computer, end program.” Kathryn said, rubbing the bridge of her nose as Chaotica’s black and white lair vanished to reveal the empty holodeck. She shook her head. “Ridiculous,” she bet no Captain in the alpha quadrant had to deal with holographic armed conflicts threatening their ships. At least this one hadn't involved the whole crew as target practice. She walked towards the doors. Paris could deal with documenting this farce. She needed a bath and a coffee. Stat.

She thought she was alone in the corridor and was making her way to the turbolift, when a familiar voice spoke up off to her left. 

“That was impressive,” Chakotay said as he appeared out of a side corridor and fell into step beside her. 

She groaned. “Please tell me that wasn’t recorded?”

He chuckled. “Tuvok says he needs it for security purposes… and it would be helpful for documenting that ahh… unique first contact.” 

She sighed. “Insubordinate, the lot of you.” She called the lift, tapping her foot impatiently as she waited. “Are you here to tell me I make an excellent Queen of the Spider People.” 

“Her dress certainly suits you,” he said. 

Kathryn scoffed.  “Well... get a good look because it’s the only one you’re going to get,” she said. The lift arrived then and she swaggered into it, with Chakotay behind her.

“Deck three,” Chakotay said for her. He looked at the dress again. “You don’t like it? It can’t be the heels; your uniform boots are taller.”

“It’s fine,” she said. “I just don’t think it is very… Captainly.” 

He looked thoughtful as the lift rose. “Come to think of it, I haven’t seen you wear anything that isn’t a uniform in a while.” 

She blushed. “Does my First Officer get to have an opinion about my choice of clothes now?” she asked testily.

“Well…” He tugged his ear. “No… but your friend does if it looks like you’re letting yourself be on duty 24/7.” The lift reached deck three and she walked out, him right behind her. “I happen to know Kathryn likes wearing dresses.” 

She didn’t know what to say to him, but let him continue escorting her to her quarters. 

She’d been doing better since they’d left the void. She was back on the bridge and engaged with ship’s business. But she knew she’d clocked more off-hours time in her ready room and engineering than on the holodeck or mess hall or airponics bay. And if anyone else would know it, he would.

They reached her door and when she raised her hand to type in her code, she paused over the keypad. “I’m  _ trying _ .”

“I know,” he said softly. She sighed as his warm hand came to rest on her shoulder. “I just want to make sure you’re not swapping one way to punish yourself for another,” he said quietly.

Kathryn swallowed the lump in her throat. “I can do my job, Chakotay,” she said, shoulders wilting a little. “But it takes so much,” to her horror, she felt her eyes welling as her voice cracked. “It's hard to find enough…” her arms waved as her hands clenched and unclenched as if searching for a way to explain, “energy… to do the things I enjoyed.” 

“Kathryn,” he murmured. At once his hand was pulling her to him, tucking her against his chest. She gripped his shirt and cursed her moment of weakness as she fought a surge of tears. His hand ran up and down her back over the gauzy dress. “It’s okay,” he whispered.

“No, it’s not,” she tried to push him back. “The crew will  _ see _ .” 

“No they won’t” he assured her, holding her tighter. “Officially, the carpets on this deck are being cleaned so the deck is closed… Tuvok didn’t think you’d want to be seen in a ‘frivolous costume.’”

She chuckled once and shook her head. “Always looking out for me.” She sniffed and leaned her head against his chest. Her hands traced over his uniforms and around his sides, wrapping as much as she could around his back. “How long are they cleaning the carpets then?” 

“Hmm… I don’t know,” he said, pressing his lips against her temple. “Until I update the cleaning schedule.” 

She’d told herself years ago she wouldn’t let the both of them get close like this. It was too dangerous. But she sometimes wavered; some days were harder than others.

“Dinner plans?” he asked.

She shrugged. “Whatever’s easiest.” She hadn’t had much patience for working with the replicator lately. Peanut butter and jelly was a lot easier after a long day on duty. But if she told him that, he might be really worried. 

His arm around her waist and his hand rubbing her back felt like heaven. “How about you take a bath, and I’ll make vegetable biryani,” he said. 

“Are you telling me I stink now?” she asked.

“Nooo.” He pulled back and smirked playfully at her. “But you are  _ covered  _ in Spider pheromones.” 

He got a real laugh out of her and she slapped his chest. “Next time I get to be Captain Proton,” she grumbled as she typed in her door code. “We can have Tom using pheromones on his super villains.” 

“You never did say if you liked the dress.” he said as he followed her in. 

“It… feels nice.” she confessed and reached up. “But this collar keeps finding a way to get caught in my hair.” she said. Tom had persuaded her to use the follicle stimulator to make it long for the costume. And in contrast to her preferred buns and twists, this fancy updo was not keeping the hair well contained. She tugged a few strands free of the mesh collar. “Just… give me a half hour.” 

“Take your time,” Chakotay said. He was already setting the table. “It’ll be ready when you’re done.” 

When she finished her bath, Kathryn scrutinized her closet. Throwing on one of the uniforms felt the easiest. But she paused over the hangers and pushed them aside, fishing in the back of the closet until she had the blue dress in her hand.

It had been ages since she’d replicated it on New Earth, and she hadn’t had cause to wear it since. Even looking at it now she felt the urge to just recycle it. It was too casual for most off duty crew events. And too new for her old-fashioned holo-novels. 

But it wasn’t hard to put on at all, and the loose skirt felt refreshing as it swayed around her knees. 

She hovered in the doorway to the main room, watching him fill the wine glasses and place the hot serving dish in the center of the table. He hadn’t seen her in this dress since New Earth. She traced the thin shoulder straps and played with the hair that fell across them. She hoped he wouldn’t think she’d changed her mind about what they could be to each other here.

He finished arranging their dinner and grinned when he saw her. “Definitely not going to get caught in your hair.” he commented as he pulled out her chair. He bowed, a crooked grin on his face. “My Queen.” 

She groaned. “Stop.” She slid into her chair. He made no move to play with her hair or touch her except to squeeze her shoulder. 

Chakotay moved around the small table, sitting down and clinking his wine glass against hers.  “To a successful first contact,” he said. 

“Successful is a stretch.” she sipped her wine. “And to not killing Tom.” 

“There’s still time,” he mused.

It had been a long time since she’d laughed so much in one evening. But he made it so easy. She reached across the table once to squeeze his hand. “Thank you.” 

“Always,” he said, squeezing back.


	7. "Yes I Did, What About It?"

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Captain Janeway saves the day, but Neelix really needs to review acceptable caffiene substitutes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The was meant to be Day 7. This weekend I'm in catch-up mode. Sorry for the delay and hope you all enjoy.

_“Bridge to Chakotay!”_ His combadge startled Chakotay awake at 2:30. It was the Ops officer for Gamma shift. He was instantly alert when he heard the sound of alarms in the background. _“There’s a problem with the Warp Core, Sir. They’re saying 10 minutes until a core breach.”_

He cursed. B'elanna was on an away mission this week. “Have you contacted the Captain?” he asked.

_“Yes Sir. Just now.”_

“And Carey?” 

_“On his way there, Sir.”_

He rushed through the process of getting his uniform on. On the Maquis ship, throwing on pants and some shoes was enough. Putting on his full uniform took him a solid ninety seconds; he was very out of practice from his original Starfleet days.

It took another forty seconds to dash to the nearest turbo lift. The trip to the Bridge another thirty. 

He was surprised to be the first of the Senior officers to arrive. Kathryn usually beat him to it. He saw Kyoto, in charge tonight, move to hand over the center seat. “Stay at your post,” he ordered. No sense wasting time for protocol. “Update?” he asked as he slid into the First Officer’s chair. 

Kyoto pointed out the relevant readings on the console. “These indicate impure dilithium in the chamber causing an overload,” Kyoto said quickly. “T-seven minutes to core breach.” 

“Have they recycled the dilithium in the chamber?” Chakotay asked.

“Tried, Sir. Main purification system is the problem.”

He cursed. That might mean the whole batch they’d just mined had a problem. “The Auxiliary tanks?” 

“They’re working on it.” 

_“Engineering to Bridge,”_ Nicoletti’s voice sounded shaky over the comm. _“Switch to auxiliary failed. The input valve is jammed.”_

Chakotay pulled up a schematic of the ship, frowning as he thought through the problem. The auxiliary dilithium purification tanks were housed on deck thirteen. It had been scheduled for repairs after the last Kazon attack, but more critical systems had taken precedent. 

The valve itself was nearly fifty kilograms. If it had been jammed it would be incredibly difficult to move manually. He tapped his combadge. “Chakotay to Carey and Vorik, we’re transporting you to the auxiliary dilithium tanks.” He nodded to the gamma shift Ops officer. “Get the input valve open. Stat.” 

_“Yes. Sir.”_

Chakotay glanced to his left. Where the hell was Kathryn?

He rubbed his chin. They’re last resort would be to dump the core. And that might leave them quite far from the resources to repair it. 

His eyebrows shot up in surprise as, barely a minute later, the readings from the warp core jumped back to normal levels. 

“ _Engineering to Bridge. Auxiliary tanks are open. Recycling the dilithium and venting plasma. Core is stabilizing.”_

Chakotay sighed. “Stand down Red Alert.” he looked over at the Command seat where Ensign Kyoto was saying a prayer of relief. Where the hell was Kathryn?

He shook his head and switched channels. “Carey, Vorik, nicely done. That was fast.” 

“ _Errr,”_ Carey cleared his throat. “ _It wasn’t us, Sir.”_

He frowned. “Care to clarify that statement, Lieutenant.” 

In the background, he heard a clang and a familiar voice swear. “ _Stop getting in my way - and hand me the wrench.”_

“Captain?”

Ensign Vorik responded. _“It would be prudent for you to come down here, Sir.”_

Chakotay arrived at Deck thirteen to a most peculiar sight. Carey and Vorik were standing below one of the large pipes that traversed the lower decks, hands raised, while his errant Captain stood on top of it, head and shoulders in the guts of deck twelve, clearly working on something they’d normally have someone access from a Jefferies tube. She was standing on her toes with a full gamut of tools tied around her waist.

And she was humming Christmas carols.

He sidled up between the two Lieutenants. “Captain… what are you doing down here?” 

“The Auxiliary tank needed to be opened.” she hollered down. “I was going to tell Nicoletti I would do it but she seemed busy. So I site-to-sited down here myself. You should have commed me . You didn’t need to wake up Carey and Vorik for it, you know.” 

Chakotay turned to the auxiliary tank that took up the bulk of this room and gaped. The input valve on the top had a visible dent in the side. It would have been hard for Carey and Vorik together to unjam. It was also nearly as heavy as Kathryn. “You did that… by yourself?” 

“Yes I did, what about it?” she demanded, and she stuck her head back through the open ceiling panel, waving a wrench at him. “I didn’t get to be captain sitting on my ass, you know.” 

She was sweating profusely. Her face was red from exertion and he could see from here her irises were dilated to a shocking degree. Chakotay watched her squint at him and grumble: “damn Engineering fumes, I can barely see you.” 

There weren't any fumes in the air. But her arms were starting to shake. Chakotay tried to keep his voice conciliatory. “I’m standing two meters below you, Captain. Maybe if you come down, you could see me more clearly.” 

She looked up. “Well I can’t leave a job half done, Chakotay. The environmental control regulators shouldn’t be left unattended.”

“I’ll send Harry down to finish the job,” Chakotay said.

Kathryn hummed. “Oh-kay.” She then startled all of them by letting go of the open panel and sliding off the pipe. Chakotay and Carey caught her before she could fall the full way to the floor. She immediately jumped to her feet and pulled a padd out of her pocket, finger tapping against the side. “Onto the next item.” She dashed past the three of them and picked up a large coffee mug resting by the door. She took a deep drink of it.“I’m going to adjust the stern shield emitters.” 

“That’s meant to take a week and a team of five,” Carey advised Chakotay as the three of them followed her out into the main corridor.

“Commander,” Vorik said, passing him a tricorder “I believe the Captain may be drinking a new coffee substitute. I recognize the smell from the Mess Hall. Mr. Neelix has been brewing it since yesterday and has been insistent that the Captain be the first to try it. I unfortunately haven’t been able to scan it yet.” 

“That’s alright Ensign, I can take it from here.” Chakotay clipped the tricorder to his belt. Up ahead, Kathryn was calling the turbolift. “Have maintenance send a team down to finish what she was working on.” 

“Yes, Sir,” they said, taking the hint to use one of the other turbolifts. He managed to reach Kathryn just as the doors of hers were closing. 

“Deck eleven,” Kathryn called and then looked down at her mug. “No. wait... I mean Belay that. Belay that. Deck two.” She grinned at Chakotay. “I need a refill.” 

“Is that a new coffee substitute?” he asked, taking a scan of it.

“Yup!” she shifted from foot to foot, clearly struggling to stand still. “Not quite the same taste but! Neelix has found a winner with this one.” 

“Does it have enough caffeine?” Chakotay said, reviewing the results.

“Feels like it… why does this lift go so slow?” 

He gasped. “Kathryn,” he said, waving the tricorder. “That stuff is 30% amphetamine!” 

She looked at the cup, frowning. “Oh,” then up at him, “well it’s very effective. I've only had two cups and I haven’t felt tired in hours.” She waved the padd. “And I did all of these repairs by myself.” 

“Well we’re not recommending it to the engineering staff,” he said. “Deck 5.” he ordered the computer, putting a hand on Kathryn’s arm.

“Chakotay,” she tisked, shrugging him off. “I feel fine.” 

“Well let’s just let the Doc make sure,” he cajoled. 

“No,” she groaned. 

He thought quickly. “You know it might be good to take a look at his program in any case. He’s been adding a lot of subroutines lately. On his own. Kes is worried it will affect his ability to treat patients… and we really can’t leave Sickbay to Kes. We might need your expertise to check him over.”

Kathryn hummed, fingers itching her arms. “But there’s so many other repairs to get to,” she said, pulling the padd out of her pocket. “I need to…” 

“No one else is as up-to-date on the EMH technology as you,” Chakotay continued. “It might... need a Captain’s eye.” 

She looked up at him shrewdly. “This isn’t a trick to get me to sickbay is it?” 

“No,” he assured her. “I really think it could use your personal expertise… How about you look at the Doc, and I can hold on to this,” he smoothly plucked the mug out of her hand. And whispered conspiratorially: “You probably don’t want the Doc scanning it, after all.” 

She pat his chest, “You’re a good friend Chakotay,” she said. She looked around the turbolift, still squinting. “It’s still really blurry… are you sure there’s no engineering fumes around?” 

“No, that would be something you drank,” he said.

“Huh… well tell Neelix to fix it… coffee isn’t supposed to do that.”

“Oh trust me,” he shook his head. “I’ll be having _a lot_ of words with Neelix about acceptable coffee substitutes.” 

She smiled. “What would I do without you, Chakotay?” she asked as the lift arrived at deck five

Chakotay laughed and escorted her out of the lift, one hand resting lightly on her arm. “Come on, Captain. Let’s check in on our EMH.”


	8. I'm Not Doing That Again

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Post-Homecoming. Kathryn and Miral both have some opinions to share with Owen Paris.

“No,” Admiral Kathryn Janeway laughed at Owen Paris and shook her head. She took another sip of wine. “I’m not doing that again.” 

“Oh come now Katie!” Owen protested. “You’re a natural with people! You could charm a Ferengi into donating to charity.” 

“That would have a purpose,” Kathryn said. “These… ‘official functions,’” only serve to feed the egos of all the celebrities and society types who’d prefer me to sing their praises than actually talk constructively about the issues.” 

“It does serve a purpose,” Owen blustered. “You’ve just achieved something incredible, Katie. You got from one end of the galaxy and back in a tenth of the time. You managed to merge two disparate factions into one crew with barely any incident, and you brought back all that technology.” 

“Yes - and  _ I’d rather still be working with that technology _ than idling around Paris in this… penguin suit.” she looked down at the new dress uniform with distaste. “ _ Who _ approved these anyways.” 

“Katie,” Owen sighed. “We all get assignments we don’t want to do. Especially in the admiralty. But they need to get done.” He raised his wine glass to her. “Your accomplishments have raised your recognition in the eyes of people throughout the Federation. And those accomplishments also identify you, to many of those same people, as embodying all the ideals that Starfleet represents. We need you talking to them. Not squandered away in some research lab. They trust you. And we need them to trust Starfleet as well, and encourage their young people to become Starfleet officers. The war took many of our best people, and it has made many Federation members nervous about whether Starfleet can still live up to its ideals.” 

“If Starfleet wants their trust so much, it should put its money where its mouth is, as your son would say.” She pointed her fork at Owen. “The majority of the fleet is either languishing within 100 parsecs of Sector 1 or reinforcing borders that could be manned quite effectively by half the number of ships. Who’s checking in on the epidemic on Ktaria? Who’s assisting the Veneran system with their abnormal solar storms? Who’s –” 

“Alright alright,” Owen held up a hand. “I take your point,” he sighed. “But the Fleet Admiral won’t unless you can show him you're willing to be a team player… surely a few more evenings wining-and-dining at the best spots in Paris isn’t too much to ask?”

“Easy for you to say,” Kathryn grumbled. “If the Rigellian ambassador tries to put his hand on my ass one more time, I’m going to phaser it off.” 

As she spoke, they heard the front door close and Tom Paris, Miral strapped to a sling on his chest, strolled into the room. 

“Who’s getting phasered?” he asked with a lopsided grin. 

Owen immediately set down his wine and stood, reaching out for Miral. “Julia didn’t tell me you were coming by!” Owen exclaimed, cheerfully accepting Miral and letting her grab onto his index finger.

“Come on, I haven’t changed that much - dropping by unannounced is my specialty.” He leaned down to hug Kathryn and grabbed one of the empty chairs. He leaned back in it and crossed his arms and looked at Kathryn. “So who are we phasering?” 

“Rigellian ambassador,” she said, watching amused as Owen began to baby talk with Miral. “I’m not going back to Paris, Owen. And they can’t fire me if I’m such a damned important spokesperson. The worst they can do is force me to take a demotion. Which is  _ fine _ because then I can be out there actually doing something important.” 

“This is important,” Owen sighed and looked at Miral. “We need to talk some sense into your Godmother, Pumpkin. Don’t you agree? You do, don’t you,” he tickled Miral’s chin.

The infant squealed and then spit up, covering Owen’s uniform in the messy remains of her dinner.

Kathryn and Tom burst into laughter. “That’s what Miral thinks of my diplomatic assignment,” Kathryn chortled. She clapped Tom on the shoulder. “Let me bring her to Paris next time,” she said. “There are a few self-important idiots I would love to introduce her to.” 


	9. Well, Will You Look At This

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Set mid-Season 2. Post Elogium. Tom notices something intriguing about the Commander's holodeck program

"Well will you look at this," Tom observed as he, Harry, Megan, and Torres passed holodeck one. They had the second holodeck booked for a ping pong tournament, but Tom was mightily distracted by this one. He gathered the group of them by the doors, grinning cheekily.

"Tom you booked the other holodeck," Torres grumbled.

"I did and I also got a look at who's booked this one." Tom grinned and pointed to the display. "The Commander has it for the next two hours."

"Chakotay always books the holodeck once a week, Tom," Harry pointed out.

"I know _that_." Tom pointed his thumb at the display. "But why, dear Harry, is it running one of the  _ Captain's  _ programs."

"What?" Torres demanded.

Tom grinned, tapping the display. "See - Woodville Quarry, Winter - That's a half mile behind the Janeways' house."

"Wait… you've been to the Captain's house?" Harry gaped. "You never told me."

"What are they doing at a quarry?" Megan asked.

Tom had a mischievous look on his face and he looked at B'elanna. "Wanna find out?"

She narrowed her eyes. "Not enough to deal with Chakotay if he catches us," she said and tugged Harry's arm. "Come on, Starfleet - I still want a rematch."

"Spoil Sport," Tom grumbled and Megan giggled at him.

"Sorry, Tom," she said, following Harry and B'elanna to the other holodeck.

Tom though, was not so easily swayed. He accessed the controls for the display. Just a peek couldn't hurt.

No good holo-programmer didn't leave a few back doors for themselves. Tom typed in a few customized codes and the privacy lock on the holodeck disengaged. Tom ordered the doors to open.

Inside lay an expanse of snow and a thickly wooded area, a trail of fresh boot prints wove through the trees. Tom followed where they led.

"It's no different than when you're boxing, Chakotay." The Captain's voice was coming from an open area beyond the trees. "You just need to find your balance."

"Easy for you to say you were probably out here as soon as you could walk," the Commander said. "You know, humans are one of only three species in the Alpha quadrant who have some form of this as a leisure activity - and the other two originate on L-class planets and have a lot more natural padding."

"You don't have to be afraid of falling," the Captain said undeterred. "I've got you."

Tom finally made it through the trees, emerging onto the site of an old flooded quarry, now frozen over, with large flows of ice clinging to the sheer rock face that bordered it on two sides. 

Chakotay was clinging to one of the rock walls, looking skeptically at Captain Janeway, who was standing much more steadily on her own set of ice skates. She was holding out her hands.

"Come on," she said again. "I won't let you fall."

"All due respect, Captain," Chakotay chuckled. "You're…"

She put her hands on her hips as she looked up at him. "Yes?"

"Ah…" Chakotay tugged his ear. "You're... small. If I slip, I could easily injure you."

Janeway scoffed. "Give me some credit." She skated up to him and grabbed his hand off the wall. "Just trust me.” She linked one arm through his and began to speak more quietly, correcting his stance and helping him gain his balance. 

Tom grinned and looked around. If he was careful, he could get to the control panel and replicate himself a holo-imager…"

At that moment though, his attention was distracted by a fierce set of fingers pinching his ear.

"What are you doing?" Torres hissed, dragging him back through the trees. "Kahless, Tom."

"Ow! ow! Easy on the ear, I need to hear with that!" Tom said, bent over due to the way she was dragging him.

"Leave them be," she said. 

"Oh come on - he's your best friend, aren't you curious?"

B'elanna looked back through the trees. Chakotay was watching his feet as he took shaky strides along the ice, Kathryn Janeway's arm around his back as she delighted in coaching him.

"He's making friends with the Captain, that's his business," B'elanna said. 

" _ Friends _ ?" Tom raised his eyebrows. "Oh, yeah, that looks really friendly.  _ Come on _ ,  _ Torres _ ."

She scowled at him and grumbled, shivering. "Seriously, Tom?"

"I'm just saying," He stuck his hands in his pockets to stave off the very realistic cold. "You're not on the Bridge with the two of them. The other day when those space amoebas tried to mate with the ship they were seriously _ flirty. _ " He waggled his eyebrows. "Looks like she might take him up on that advice about mating behavior."

B'elanna rolled her eyes. "You're such a juvenile." She grabbed his arm a little less forcefully than she had his ear and resumed dragging him towards the doors. "Come on. Megan and I are gonna kick your ass at ping pong. And _you_ are gonna keep your mouth shut about this. Hurry up, I'm freezing"

"But it's interesting!" Tom said. "Don't  _ you _ care who your best friend is dating?"

"Well she's a hell of a lot better for him than Seska, so no. I don’t care if he’s dating her," B'elanna said, though from her blush Tom guessed she might care a little. "Whatever they're doing, they should be able to enjoy their time off without  _ you  _ sticking your nose in the middle."

Tom sighed. "Fine." He sulked as they emerged into the hallway and begrudgingly re-initiated the privacy lock. "One month of replicator rations says they're together by the time we reach the next system."

B'elanna smirked. "You sure you want to take that bet?" she asked. "Janeway specifically discouraged direct chain of command relationships in the revised fraternization protocols."

Tom scoffed. "Nah, he'll wear her down." He tried to sling his arm around her shoulders, but B'elanna elbowed him lightly in the ribs. 

"Not in your wildest dreams, Flyboy," she said.

"No my wildest are much worse." He grinned. "Hey, maybe we should start a betting pool…"


	10. All I Ever Wanted

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Set after Architects of Infinity (and clearly my wishful thinking that To Lose the Earth is less menacing that the title suggests). Full Circle Fleet is finishing its first tour of the Delta Quadrant and celebrating Admiral Janeway's birthday before heading home.

"To the finest Admiral in the fleet… I'm sure she thought she'd happily never celebrate another birthday in the Delta Quadrant. But I, for one, am glad she's going to be spending another tour out here with us," Captain Chakotay said, grinning brightly at her as he raised his glass, inviting the gathered _Voyager_ crew and various other officers from the Full Circle fleet to do the same. He winked at her, making no secret of his personal affection. It made Admiral Kathryn Janeway blush. Their first tour with the Fleet was nearly at an end and she'd successfully persuaded command that she'd only do a second if they could quit the farce of assigning her separate quarters on the Vesta. The official move-in with Chakotay had made him that much bolder about being open with their relationship off duty. 

Once the toast finished, her Captain returned to her side and bent to kiss her as he took the empty seat on her left. "Hope I didn't embarrass you," he said. 

"No," she smiled and reached over to link hands with him. "I just hope we're not being… well too ostentatious. It's still a bit unusual."

Chakotay shrugged and pointed out the Doctor: sitting a few tables away with the chief science officer from the _Galen_ practically in his lap. "I don't think we're the worst offenders," he said. 

She chuckled and looked around the room, at all the officers, from their original journey and not. "Do you remember my last birthday in the Delta Quadrant?"

Chakotay hummed. "I remember you went to great lengths to avoid a party."

"Well I didn't feel much like celebrating…" she sighed. "All I ever wanted back then was to get us home… I didn't even care at that point if you still wanted to pursue this once we got there, but I wished I could at least acknowledge it."

He stroked his thumb across the back of her hand. "And now?" 

"Now…” She laughed a little. “Well after this year, I'm amazed this quadrant hasn't killed us…" She shook her head. "We've made new allies, all our ships are mostly in one piece, we've gotten approved to go back to the 37’s and Ocampa, and we get two months of leave in between. And we get a fifth ship. I couldn't ask for more than that."

"Well I'm glad the Admiral is satisfied with the state of things?" Chakotay asked, kissing her hand. "What about in your life, Kathryn?"

Kathryn sighed and turned fully towards him, one hand tracing the side of his head over his tattoo. "I have you," she said, smiling. "I've wanted this for so long, Chakotay. I'm still getting used to it. I can’t even fathom anything else I could ask for at the moment."

"Oh… I don't know. You might still want your present," he said and her heart skipped a beat when he pulled a little, black box out of his pocket.

"Chakotay…" she said, looking around at the crew. They hadn't even discussed this sort of thing yet. He had to know she wasn't quite ready to test her luck on a third engagement.

"Trust me," he whispered, seemingly blind to all the eyes that were now trained on their table. "Open it."

She stared at his smiling face for a long moment before conceding, opening the box slowly and out of sight of any onlookers.

When the lid popped up she wrinkled her nose and furrowed her brow in confusion. "A data chip?"

He had a merry grin on his face now as he produced a padd from his pocket. 

She glared playfully at him. "I almost had a heart attack."

"I really had you going there for a second," he chortled as she snatched the padd. "Don't worry, Kathryn," he said. "When I do ask, I promise: it won't be in public, and you'll have gotten so many gifts in small black boxes that it will take you completely by surprise." 

She tried to make her glare look convincing and popped the data chip into a padd. More mysteries abounded. "A request for a course change… to Taris Seti IV? I got Molly from there, aside from the shelter, it's got nothing but old dilithium mines, a few reclusive colonies and a Ferengi trading outpost."

"It has all of those things, yes," Chakotay said, face giving nothing away. "Why don't you see what else is on the padd."

She was thoroughly puzzled now and tapped the screen quite forcefully. The next document was not any more forthcoming. "The provisional approval for Voyager to be a full family ship," she read. "Chakotay. I gave this  _ to you _ three days ago. What does that have to do with Taris Seti IV and my birthday?"

Chakotay laughed, clearly enjoying this. He sipped his cider. "Provisional approval as a family ship means we have also been given certain specific clearances, among them, to house non-sentient animal life in crew quarters."

She looked imploringly at him and he chuckled, taking the padd and bopping her on the nose.

"Dogs, Kathryn," he said, "We're going to Taris Seti IV because I'm getting you a dog."

"A - a…" She looked at the padd and then up at Chakotay. " _ Really _ ."

He nodded. "Of course… if you really think you have everything you want, then I guess...,"

" _ Chakotay!" _

She would blame herself later for the rumor that they'd gotten engaged. Fully forgetting they were at a large birthday party, she launched herself at him, putting on quite the public display of affection. The little, black box fell out of her lap and out into the middle of the floor, open and empty for all to see. 


	11. "I Told You So"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Set after that episode where Chakotay get's disembodied.

Chakotay groaned as Torres dragged him through the doors to Sickbay, where he was immediately greeted by the Doctor’s crossed arms and raised eyebrow.

“Well, well, I distinctly recall advising against you returning to quarters and you telling me you wouldn't be seeing the inside of sickbay until the next time you needed me at a briefing.” 

“He didn’t  _ discharge you _ !” Torres exclaimed exasperated.

“Don’t say ‘I told you so,’” Chakotay said as Torres helped him up onto a biobed and pushed him to lie flat. “I was fine.” 

“If we use the Captain’s definition, perhaps,” the Doctor said. “Just because I was able to  _ reintegrate  _ your consciousness with your body, does  _ not _ mean you can just return  _ immediately  _ to business as usual.” He scanned Chakotay with a tricorder. “Ah yes, as I hypothesized, your efferent nerves are demonstrating erratic responses to activity in your frontal lobe.” 

“Is that why he aimed his right hook at thin air and not at his opponent?” Torres asked. “I thought he was just getting old.” 

“ _ You we boxing! _ ” The Doctor looked affronted. “Of all the ways to waste my _indispensable_ expertise,” 

Chakotay groaned. “Just fix my head,” he complained, rubbing the bridge of his nose between his fingers. His jaw was still smarting from the punch his holographic partner had aimed at him.

The Doctor continued his diatribe as he puttered around, activating the medical arc on the biobed and placing a cortical monitor on each of Chakotay’s temples. “You’d think when a doctor uses their limited time and resources to ensure your consciousness properly returns to your body, you would listen to them when they asked you to remain present and monitor-able for any side effects. I’ve been programmed with all the medical knowledge in the Federation in order to provide optimal medical care and advice. I quite seriously know everything there is to know about treating everything from a sprained ankle to the Terrellian flu to…” 

Chakotay turned his head to look pleadingly at Torres, willing her to go tinker with the Doctor’s program and find a way to mute him. But she just shook her head, clearly amused. “You’re the one who left early,” she said.

Just then, the sickbay doors whooshed open and the Captain rushed in. “Chakotay!” she said a bit breathless, but the Doctor stepped between her and the biobed.

“You -” he accused, poking a surprisingly strong holographic finger against her chest. “Look at the behavior you’re encouraging! Next all my patients will be forgoing their hypo sprays for ill advised self-medicating on coffee!” 

“What?” Janeway frowned, stepping around him and moving to Chakotay. “Are you alright?” 

“I said, I’m fine,” he said, moving to sit up.

“You see!” the Doctor exclaimed. He moved back to the bed and ordered Chakotay to lie down again. “I should write myself a subroutine with experiences of Command training,” he grumbled, returning to treating Chakotay. “Clearly something about the experience makes you all think you can just make up your own second opinions.” He called for Kes. “While you’re here, Captain you ought to get checked out yourself.” 

“Excuse me?” she said.

“You are three months late for your physical!” he exclaimed. 

“I’m fine,” she said. “There are more pressing matters,” 

“That is why your Commander here now has a contusion on his right mandible,” the Doctor snapped. “I am going to ban the word “fine,” from my sickbay!” he grumbled.


	12. "Watch Me!"

Kathryn entered the holodeck dressed in her exercise tunic and leggings and grinned as she stepped into a replica of the old studio that had, long ago, hosted her first ballet recitals. 

Leaning against the wall nearest her, Sam Wildman immediately straightened. “Captain!” She smiled. “Thank you for coming, I know you're very busy! I… I hope it isn’t inconvenient.” 

“Sam,” Kathryn smiled to put her at ease and reached out to touch her arm. “Relax, I’m just sorry I can’t teach every lesson.” 

Sam smiled. “She asks every time if you’re going to be here to teach her. She likes the holo-instructor well enough but she loves when you can be here.” 

Just then a very small girl ran into the room, blond hair in a rather messy bun that she’d clearly done herself, and wearing a bright pink frilly tutu. For a brief moment Kathryn thought she looked just like Phoebe during the one year they had both taken lessons together.

But the tiny horns peeking through Naomi’s bangs clearly showed she was not Phoebe. She squealed and threw herself at Kathryn’s legs. She was taller and heavier than she’d been only a few weeks before, head nearly reaching Kathryn’s hip. “You’re here!” Naomi shrieked in excitement.

“Naomi!” Samantha pleaded with her two and a half year old. “You don’t greet the Captain like that.” 

“Oh! Right!” Naomi jumped back and snapped herself to attention, as much as a young girl could. She was still bouncing on her toes. 

“At ease,” Kathryn chuckled, kneeling down to Naomi’s level. “I’m sorry I haven’t been able to teach your lessons this month.” 

“It’s okay!” Naomi said. “It gave me time to practice,” she said and looked up at her mother. “Mommy look! I did the bun all by myself!” 

“I can see that,” Sam said, eyeing the lopsided up-do with amusement. “I think we need a different scrunchie though - here,” she called for the computer to make a red band for Naomi’s hair.

“It will match my outfit,” Kathryn said, and Sam smiled gratefully as she used the excuse to sort Naomi’s hair into a proper bun. 

“I’ve been practicing the Sugar Plum Fairy dance!” Naomi said. “I asked Neelix and he said I could do it for the third night of Prixin! Would you do it with me, Captain!” 

“Naomi, I’ve told you the Captain is very busy,” Samantha said, blushing. 

“I make time for every member of my crew,” Kathryn assured her. She looked at Naomi and grinned. “I will plan to be there, and if we have an alert situation, we will reschedule for when I can be there. How does that sound?” 

Naomi was now jumping up and down from excitement. 

“Would you like to show the Captain how well you’ve practiced?” Sam asked.

Naomi squealed. “Yes!!!” she twirled around. “Computer - play  _ ‘Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy,’ _ please.” 

As Tchaikovsky’s music began to play, Naomi spun away from the adults. “Watch me! Watch me!” she said as she assumed the preparatory pose. 

“We’re watching,” Sam chuckled along with Kathryn.

“She’s learned a lot in a month!” Kathryn whispered as they watched Naomi dance.

“Gres told me once that they learn so fast in their first couple years,” Sam said. “And I thought I understood - I told him humans grow fast too - but that was before she spoke her first word hours after getting her first tooth.” 

She turned to Kathryn. “I really am so, so grateful that you want to be here Captain. Neelix talks about you all the time, I think she might have a bit of hero worship.” 

“Well if she still feels that way when she’s older I’d be happy to take her on as an assistant.” Kathryn offered. 

Sam shook her head. “Oh no, she can be a lot to handle,” 

“No more so than Mr. Paris,” the Captain murmured.

Sam burst into laughter and her shoulders relaxed; the more Naomi pleaded for the Captain’s attention, the more Sam found herself spending time with her commanding officer. The distance normally imposed by rank had been hard for Sam to set-aside, but the Captain was not nearly as brusque or intimidating as her previous experiences with Captains had led her to believe. And slowly, she was beginning to feel more at ease being casual around her.  


“I-I think she would love being a Captain’s assistant,” Sam told Kathryn. She rubbed the back of her neck. “You’d really be her favorite person then.” 

Kathryn shook her head. “Don’t let her endless curiosity and outgoing nature fool you,” she told Sam. “When I stopped by the mess hall to check in on her lessons last month, she was drawing pictures of her favorite things to do. And the first one she made was of your bedtime stories.” She squeezed Sam’s shoulder. “No matter how old she gets or who she spends her day with when you’re on duty, you’ll always be her favorite person.”


	13. "I missed that."

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> chakotay missed how Kathryn is with her starships

Captain Chakotay and Admiral Janeway’s shuttle trundled along at impulse on their way to their vacation spot - an uninhabited natural-park planet famed for its pristine beaches, gorgeous canyons, and plentiful hotsprings.

To get there, they were currently navigating through this rather interesting area of space, where subspace anomalies made warp travel a risky prospect, and made autopilot similarly risky. To cross it, they had been taking opposite shifts at the conn, and splitting the third shift jointly between them. It was an odd schedule that, given it was just the two of them, meant that despite this being their first time together in months, they rarely saw each other. It had been a week on this schedule, crossing this final stretch of space, and they had a week to go before reaching their destination.

Chakotay finished his morning workout on the shuttle’s tiny hologrid and made his way to the fore section to join Kathryn for her last few hours at the conn. She’d been desk bound for the last six months, owing to a need to care for her mother while she recovered from an injury. Chakotay had meant to stay close to her at the Academy, but had been pulled just before the start of term to manage “second contact” with a new warp-capable species. A green captain who’d earned his pips in the Dominion war had botched the first, and Command had said Chakotay was the only one available with the experience to sort out the mess. 

Second contact had gone well, but only having Kathryn via comm for six months had been difficult. Chakotay couldn’t wait until this final stretch of their travel was over, when he could spend proper time relaxing with her.

“ _ You know what would really make you feel good,”  _ Chakotay heard Kathryn crooning in a downright sultry tone as he neared the fore section. He leaned on the doorway and crossed his arms, smiling as he watched her stroke the conn. _ “A good tune up to your sensor array and astrometrics console where they’ve wasted all that space on that antiquated recycling system.”  _ Kathryn leaned over and tapped a few buttons on the console, adjusting their course. “I could update your recycling system so it takes up half the space. And  _ you _ could have astrometric capabilities to make autopiloting through this sector possible.” 

She pat the conn affectionately and whispered. “And then you know, maybe we could work on expanding your little hologrid so we can program a big bathtub into it, what do you say.” 

Chakotay chuckled and startled Kathryn, who turned around and blushed, grinning sheepishly.

“I missed that,” Chakotay confessed as he approached, leaning down to kiss her forehead. “Morning to you.” 

“And Evening to you,” she replied. “Missed what?” 

“You sweet-talking your starship,” he said and grinned as he slid into the other chair.

Kathryn sputtered. “I - well you know the least she deserves is updated sensors.”

Chakotay chuckled and stroked the conn himself. “She’s a good ship,” he agreed.

Kathryn transferred control over to his station and then stood up, stretching. “Let’s not take this route on the way back,” she sighed. 

“While we’re at it let’s not spend half a year apart again.” 

She sighed and looked at him fondly, then moved to his chair and slid into his lap. He kept one hand on the conn controls as he held her with the other. 

Kathryn ran her fingers across his salt-and-pepper stubble. “At least you had  _ Voyager  _ to talk to,” she said. “She’s very good company.” 

“She is,” Chakotay agreed. Then he kissed her nose and then her lips. “But sweet-talking our ship has got nothing on sweet-talking my Admiral.” 

She laughed. “Mmmh,” she wrapped both arms around his neck and shifted to straddle him. “Do I have something Voyager doesn’t have?” 

He ached to be able to engage the autopilot as he ran his free hand up the back of her thigh. “Many many things…” 

Just as he reached her lovely ass, the proximity sensor beeped angrily. Chakotay and Kathryn both groaned as he diverted his attention to the conn and sailed them clear of the asteroid outside.

“One more week,” Kathryn lamented. “We are definitely going home the long way around.” 

“I will personally program the autopilot,” Chakotay promised. Kathryn thanked him by sighing and kissing his cheek. She rested her tired head against his. 

“You know what you need.” Chakotay said. “A nice bath. Coffee ice cream. And a glass of wine.” 

Kathryn whined. “I miss  _ that _ .” 

“Me and this ship had our own chat before I turned in last night,” Chakotay said. “The hologrid is now 60 cm longer and wider. He matched the grin now spreading across her face. “You just have to program the tub.” 

“I love you,” she said, pressing a firm kiss to his lips. Then she jumped up. “I’m going to,” 

“Go relax,” he said and called jokingly behind her. “Don’t waste all the hot water.”

“I will leave  _ plenty _ for you.” she called back. She left the door to the aft section open and her voice took on that lovely, sultry tone. “ _ You know how I should thank you for this?” _

“How,” Chakotay grinned. 

_ “Well… first, when we reach orbit, I’m going to start this bath program - I’m programming it big enough for two… nice and cozy.” _

“Jacuzzi jets?” he asked.

“ _ A dozen _ ,” she whispered. He heard the splash and blissful sigh as she slipped into her newly programmed bath-tub. “ _ I’ll break out the cider, and we can toast together, and I’ll sit facing you.”  _

“I thought you said it was cozy,” he mused.

“ _ Oh it is - but there still needs to be room to maneuver...” _


	14. "You Better Leave Now."

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Post-Nemesis. I've written a lot of Chakotay taking care of Kathryn. This time she takes care of him.

Kathryn couldn't get the Kradin ambassador off her ship fast enough, which was complicated by the need not to seem hasty for his departure. Their ships would be providing security for the route _Voyager_ would travel for the next 5 parsecs. Which meant she was now forced to waste precious time making up for her first officer's diplomatic gaff. She was furious with herself - and the Doctor for declaring Chakotay would have no after effects from his experiences. Based on the Doctor's misjudgement, she had stumbled into allowing the ambassador to meet her First Officer to ensure their nemesis, the Vori, had no lingering influence over _Voyager_.

That had backfired spectacularly. She had to now pull Tuvok off the bridge in order to go over their security protocols to assure the Kradin that no subliminal Vori programming would allow the Commander to mutiny and attack Kradin ships as they traversed their space. 

The meeting and subsequent required niceties with the ambassador's entourage took the better part of three hours. As soon as the Kradin had finally beamed off of her ship, Janeway made haste for Chakotay's quarters, waving off no less than five people on her way there, not to mention any others who had deigned to say hello only to see her face and decide to save it for a better time.

She rang his chime three times and commed him pleading entry. When he didn't answer, she glared testily at the door and punched in her override code.

His quarters were dark when she stepped inside. She took note of the toppled coffee table and bloodied bulkhead next to a fallen painting. A lesser material might have dented under the force of his fist. As it was, she worried he might have a few broken knuckles.

She went to the replicator and asked quietly for a first aid kit. As it materialized, his low, rough voice carried from the dark bedroom.

"You better leave now, Captain."

She followed his voice into the even darker bedroom; he'd ordered the view-ports tinted to block the starlight. She could barely see the hulking shape of him, facing away from her on the other side of his bed.

"I'll report you for abuse of station," he threatened.

"Go right ahead," she said softly and rounded the bed, whispering a request for ten percent illumination. She stifled a gasp as she took in the stony, dark look on his face. She knelt before him and he turned away. His arms were braced on his knees and she could see his tightly clenched fists were trembling. She covered both with her hands.

"Are you done dealing with _them,_ Captain?" he spat. "Still the Federation's prerogative to sweep the truth under the rug for convenience? Was peace with _them_ more important to you?"

She bit her lip. The parallels to his feelings about and experiences of Cardassians were not lost on her. "I'd rather not deal with any of them," she said, coaxing his injured hand to uncurl and running a tricorder over the knuckles: one broken, the others just mightily bruised. "Both sides have done horrible things to each other. And I'm sure more than what we could see."

He was like a statue, barely breathing as she applied a numbing agent to his knuckles and then set about reducing the swelling and sealing the wound. "I'd like to punch a few of them myself," she said quietly. She then set about winding a bandage around his hand, to keep it still until the Doctor could take a look at his broken knuckle. she felt the intensity of his gaze as he finally looked at her, but she continued her work until the bandage was secure. 

"You want me to make nice with the Kradin, nothings changed." He jerked his hand out of hers. "Go away, Captain. I don't feel like playing a good Starfleet Officer right now."

She frowned stubbornly at him and re-took both his hands, stroking her thumbs across the tense muscles. She considered how best to approach what she wanted to say. He had to trust that she was on his side, and that meant having this conversation. She wondered how they'd gone so long without it. But it was high time for it. "When reports started coming in about what was happening in the demilitarized zone… I was working hard to prove I was ready for promotion. There was a lot of pressure, to prove I wouldn't be... influenced by past prejudices."

He stilled even more if that were possible. She kept her eyes on his hands. "I thought they were absolutely capable of what the rumors were saying. But my colleagues… my peers, my mentors, they weren't so sure." She bowed her head. "Of course we'd had conflicts in the past. But they were civilized people. And we'd come to terms. I'd only encountered one border patrol ship… one Gul. How could I judge an entire species based on just that? They said all the right things in the negotiations. The treaty was a fair compromise, everyone said so. They said surely I didn't believe all that… fear mongering." 

She brought his hands together and kissed each. "Chakotay: If I'd known then what I do now... If I'd trusted myself, I wouldn't have stood for it. And I don't stand by anything the Kradin or Vori are doing. I'm just trying to get us through their space." She felt a splash across the back of her hand and felt him tremble. "The only one I'm standing by is you." She looked up and reached one hand to cup his tear streaked face. "Don't go back there. Let me be here for you." 

He sobbed and leaned forwards, nearly doubled over, and she wound her arms around his back and held on as he pressed his face into her shoulder.

"It was like D-dorvan," he said, choking on the last word. She rubbed his back as he squeezed her tightly. "But I was _there_." He gasped. "And I still couldn't save them... I had to watch."

"Oh, Chakotay" she cursed the Vori to hell as her own tears began to flow down her face.

"It brought everything back." He shuddered and said in a small voice. "I _hate_ this feeling."

"I know," she murmured. "It doesn't define you, Chakotay." Her knees and her back were beginning to ache, but she willed the discomfort away. "They're gone," she promised. "All of them." The Vori, the Kradin, the Cardassians...

 _"Kathryn."_ Chakotay shifted and slid to the floor with her.

She kissed the top of his head and stroked her fingers through his hair. "I'm here... I'm right here."

He sighed. "I'm sorry."

"Shhhh," she ordered. "It's okay." She stared out at the starlight as she held him and willed the needs of her ship to wait just a little while. "It's okay."


	15. "Not Interested, Thank You"

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Post-Endgame. Kathryn deals with the perils of being a celebrity and gets some well timed assistance

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> obviously i've missed the chance to finish this challenge in 30 days. but i'm on 22 of 31 of the prompts so I intend to post the rest of them anyways.   
> This chapter is a bit rushed. but I think it is still fun. Hope you enjoy.

Kathryn Janeway sighed in dismay as soon as she spotted the crowd amassed outside the glass doors of Starfleet Headquarters. Word must have gotten out that her final debriefing had been conducted this morning. She could see the flashing holo-imagers and hear the buzz of the paparazzi and reporters even from inside the building.

She straightened the stiff jacket of the new uniform, which was only adding to her discomfort and braced herself. She'd been ordered not to engage with the press. That order, her general wish not to have her private life run roughshod over, and the secrecy surrounding her debriefings had only made them all more rabid.

Thankfully the same press had mostly avoided her crew. A well aimed punch from Dalby had scared them off the Maquis angle. The fear of assimilation had largely spared Seven and Icheb the unwanted attention, and most of the rest were either off planet or had managed to retreat to more secluded locales.

Kathryn rubbed the ever present knot at the nape of her neck. What she wouldn't give for a personal cloaking device.

She took a deep breath. There was nothing for it. They were between her and the transporter station, and her mother was expecting her for dinner.

She braced herself, and stepped forward. The front entrance to Headquarters swished open, assailing her immediately with a cacophony of questions.

"Captain Janeway! Is it true you were here today being court martialed?"

"Is it true you were responsible for stranding  _ Voyager  _ in the Delta Quadrant?"

"Can you confirm that  _ Voyager  _ was accompanied home by the Borg. Have they returned to the Alpha Quadrant?"

"Is it true Dr. Johnson was seen at your apartment late last night?"

"Are you resuming your engagement?"

She muscled her way through the first round of them. "No comment," she snapped. Holo-imagers flashed and clicked all around her. And the red lights of recorders made her lift a hand to her eyes. Would they stalk her all the way to the transporter station?

The reporters, paparazzi, and cameras extended in all directions. She could barely discern the route to the transporter station

"Did you escape to the Delta Quadrant to keep the Maquis from facing justice?"

"Is it true you broke the Prime Directive?"

"No. Comment." She continued to push forwards.

A hand with a marker thrust itself out of the crowd and in front of her face. "Will you Sign my arm, Captain?"

"No." she dodged the hand and kept going, facing another round of questions.

To her utter frustration and dismay, the paparazzi had gotten into a sort of barricade, making it impossible for her to push through without getting filmed assaulting a civilian.

As she tried to navigate her way around, someone grabbed her elbow from behind. She wrenched herself free and gasped as the same person thrust a garish bouquet of red roses in her face.

"Kathryn - Will you marry me!"

"Not interested, thank you," she said, trying to push him aside without seeming too aggressive. 

"Kathryn - tell us what you were doing at Headquarters today!"

"Captain!”

“Kathryn!”

“Janeway!"

The constant questions and crush of people was making her head throb and her new uniform feel even more restrictive. She strained to find a way around the crush of people but feared she’d be stuck until they lost interest. She mourned the hot dinner she would surely miss in Indiana.

"Wait! Kathryn please!" another man, a Betazoid threw himself in front of her. "I savor your complexities." He pushed forward, reaching for her. "Please! Join with me. I will worship you." He was taller and broader than the first man. She might have to break her rule about injuring civilians to get past him.

As he lurched towards her though, two large, tan hands grabbed the man by his upper arms, physically lifting him off the ground and tossing him into the crowd. Kathryn's eyes widened as she saw the face of who'd come to assist her.

"Chakotay!" She beamed up at him and hoped she wasn't blushing. The gossip magazines would have a field day.

"I believe she said she's not interested." Chakotay said sternly, glowering at the surrounding people. He moved behind her, raising his arms to block others trying to make their way towards her.

Now she saw it wasn't just him: her crew were streaming in from all sides, forcing their way through the crowd. Ayala grinned at her as he and Dalby muscled the large group blocking the road out of the way, letting through a sizable number of her crewmen. They stood close enough to form a physical barrier between her and the reporters, creating a bubble of calm amid the shouted questions and proposals.

Most of the crew here, she smirked, were clearly former Maquis who had been making use of Starfleet's offer of transitional housing in San Francisco, as many of their relations were either missing or did not live close to Earth. 

"Sorry we weren't there when you left HQ," Chakotay murmured "We didn't realize they would conclude your debriefing so early."

"You planned this?" she asked. She looked around at their crew and chuckled. "They're going to say I've made the Maquis my personal bodyguards."

“Happy to be of service, Captain,” Ayala winked at her. 

“Can we get a move on?” Dalby complained. “I ain’t the best with the press.” 

Janeway turned to look at Chakotay. “Shall we?” 

He waved her forwards. “After you.”


	16. "I Never Wanted Anything Else"

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> AU of the 37s. Because I can not believe Amelia Earhart would pass up the chance to fly in a spaceship.

Kathryn wiped her eyes as she surveyed the empty cargo bay and noted Chakotay’s eyes were welling with emotion too. “Well… we have quite the crew, don’t we?” 

“That we do,” he agreed with a grin. “Sure we don’t want to extend some shore leave? Might be awhile before we find another friendly place.” 

Kathryn shook her head. “No… our crew wants to stay and they’re still counting on me to get us home… Best to get underway.” She tapped her Commbadge. “ _ Janeway to Bridge _ .”

“ _ Tuvok here, Captain.” _

“ _ Begin preparations for departure. Chakotay and I will join you for launch in a few minutes.”  _

_ “Affirmative. Launch procedures may be delayed, Captain. Proximity sensors detect one human life-sign beneath the ship.”  _

Janeway frowned. Most of the 37s had seemed too wary of a spaceship to approach. She looked at Chakotay’s equally confused face. “All crew is aboard?” 

“Yes - Captain, I am having Ensign Kim attempt communication.” 

There was a pause and a minute later Tuvok commed again. “One of the 37s is requesting permission to board, Captain.” 

“Board?” She frowned and looked at Chakotay. “Alright… open the doors of Cargo Bay one, let’s not startle them with the transporters.” 

Tuvok cut the comm. and she and the Commander both turned as the seldom used cargo bay doors slid open and a ramp unfolded. They heard the clack of boots walking up into the ship.

Janeway grinned as Amelia Earhart’s sandy blond head appeared as she stepped up into the Cargo bay, looking all around at the vast space. 

“Still not sure how this great thing flies,” Earhart commented as she approached the command team. She had a small plain duffle bag thrown over one shoulder. “I did some thinking,” she said, fiddling with the pin on her lapel. “You’ve got a long journey back to Earth. Figured you could use a spare hand in the pilot’s seat.” 

Janeway gaped. “I… are you sure Ms. Earhart?” she asked. 

“You’d need to do a lot of retraining,” Chakotay said. “She handles a lot differently than a biplane. Even our small mission would shuttles require years of training.”

“Well…” she shrugged. “I have other skills. I know we offered your people a chance to set down roots, but if you’re leaving… I’m hoping you’ll accept a request to join you… assuming you have a bunk to spare.” Amelia straightened up into an at attention stance. “Permission to come aboard, Captain? I won’t presume I can fly a thing this size without a little training, but I’m a fair hand with details if you need help keeping things organized. Or I can help with repairs. Or if you need a spare Nurse’s Aide, I treated my fair share of wounded from the Great War.”

Janeway raised her eyebrows. “Are you sure - as impressive as this ship might look, it doesn’t change the dangers we face out there.”

“All due respect, Ma’am,” Amelia interrupted. “The second your feet leave solid ground, you throw safe out the window. Doesn’t matter if it’s sea or air or whatever’s up in the stars there.” Earhart looked again at the vast room, “The chance to brush the stars… I never wanted anything else. Now I’ve got a chance to fly among them… If I don’t take it, I’d spend my whole life dreaming about what I could have seen out there.” She eyed Janeway and grinned. “And if they’ve got a gal like you in charge on a ship like this… well I guess I’d be glad to see how things have changed back home.”

“If I may, Captain,” Chakotay said, “Some of the younger Maquis spend a few duty shifts a week studying with Ensign Wildman and Lt. Tuvok to bring their knowledge up to starship crewman standards. Gerron’s even expressed an interest in engineering certification.” He nodded to Earhart. “I’m sure we could work out a similar arrangement.” 

Janeway could see in Earhart’s face that this was even more than she had expected. She extended a hand and Amelia shook it. “Well then - welcome aboard, Crewman. Do you need to say any goodbyes before we get underway?”

“Already said, Captain.”

“Good,” she looked at Chakotay. “The Commander here is in charge of crew assignments. He’ll get you settled and escort you to the bridge in a half an hour.” She grinned. “I think you’ll enjoy the view as we take off.” 


	17. "Give Me a Minute... Or an Hour."

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Set some time in Season 4 or 5: B'Elanna and Seven clash over the efficiency of human Engineers

B’elanna swore at the results of the diagnostic scan and flagged down Lt. Nicoletti. “Plasma regulation system relay is malfunctioning,” she said pointing to the Jefferey's tube hatch on the nearest wall. “Bypass it for now. And then I want a full work up done on the malfunctioning one.” 

“Aye, Sir.” Nicoletti grabbed a toolkit from the storage compartment beside the hatch. “Just give me a minute.”

B’elanna nodded and was about to ask one of the nearby crewmen to see if there were any pattern relating this to other relay issues they’d had this year, when she heard Seven’s cool voice from the upper level of Engineering: “Or an hour.” 

B’elanna’s eyebrow twitched in irritation. Much as Seven had an excellent mechanical knowledge of the ship, each time she deigned to grace Engineering with her presence she always grated on B’Elanna’s nerves. “It’s just an expression,” She told Seven, exasperated and then shot back. “But an hour? Really, Seven?” she crossed her arms as Seven came down from the upper level. “That’s hardly going to take an hour.” 

Seven looked down at her with a look that reeked of presumed superiority. “It is highly probable that this malfunction is related to the power surge caused by our encounter with species 3461. More than one relay is likely damaged and will need repair. In addition, humans, while dexterous, are… inefficient. Repairs will most likely take an hour or longer.” 

B’elanna breathed out through her nose and resisted the urge to slap the cool superiority off of Seven’s face. It wasn’t entirely Seven’s fault, B’Elanna tried to remind herself. Growing up with the Borg’s standards of efficiency and perfection would skew anyone’s attitude. And Seven clearly assumed she was stating a clear observation of human nature.

B’elanna’s commbadge chirped.  _ “Nicoletti to Torres: several relays in this section look a little banged up. I’m going to have to work around the lot to be on the safe side.”  _

“How many is several?” Torres demanded, turning away from Seven to avoid seeing her self-satisfied look.

“Ah… I’m checking the whole section. So far it looks like 30% have some damage.” 

B’Elanna massaged the ridges over her nose. “Noted. I’ll send a team to check the systems on the adjacent decks. Make sure you test each relay as you bypass it.” 

“Will do.” 

“It clearly will take at least an hour,” Seven noted. 

B’Elanna turned around to glare at her. Seven was conducting an analysis of related ships systems on the nearest console. It was actually quite proactive and helpful of her, which did not help to stem B’Elanna’s irritation.

Seven glanced up at her. “From your increased breathing and increased blood flow to your cheeks, in response to these circumstances, I infer that you are agitated.” Seven returned to her work. “It is not an insult - a Borg drone would take an average of 45 minutes to accomplish this repair. As humans lack several of the advantages of Borg drones, it is reasonable that standard repairs take more time.” Seven arced one of her imperious eyebrows again. “It is the logical conclusion.” 

_ She spends too much time with Tuvok, _ B’Elanna thought as she tried to ignore her temper. “Humans have their own advantages,” B’elanna said. “And Nicoletti is one of the most experienced engineers on my staff.” She crossed her arms. “I bet she takes half the time as your average Borg drone.” 

Seven blinked and cocked her head to the side. “I do not see how that is possible.” She returned to her work. “Humans lack Borg focus and attention to detail. And years of one human experience is not equal to the Borg Collective’s expertise.” 

“She’ll be done with the repairs by the time you finish that analysis.” Torres challenged. 

“Doubtful.” 

B'Elanna stormed off to the upper deck, dispatching two crewmen to check for damage on adjacent decks. As she made the rounds of her engine room, stomping about like a disgruntled Targ, she kept one eye on the entrance to the Jefferey's tubes. Seven’s analysis would take about twenty minutes, which didn’t give Nicoletti a lot of time...

Murmurs passed B’Elanna as she moved and soon many of her other staff had one eye on the Jefferey's tube as well.

With five minutes to go before Seven would make her eat her words, B’Elanna saw many of her staff snap to attention as Captain Janeway breezed through the entrance of the upper deck.

“Carry on,” Janeway said, leaning over the railing next to B’Elanna. Seven glanced up once, clearly curious, but continued with her work. “I hear we have a wager going on the bounds of human efficiency,” Janeway said. 

B’elanna cursed, “I’m not gambling rations over it... of course I doubt Little Miss. Borg uses them,” she grumbled softly, so that Seven would not pick it up on the floor below. 

The Captain sighed. “ _ B’Elanna _ ,” she said sternly.

“I know, I know ‘set an example for the crew,’” B'Elanna grumbled. “She started it.” Then she surreptitiously checked the time on one of the consoles. 

“Afraid Seven’s estimation is correct?” Janeway asked.

“No,” B’Elanna scoffed. “We’re more efficient than the Borg,” she glanced down at the Jefferey's tube hatch and crossed her fingers.

A minute to the deadline she had set with Seven, they heard a grunt as Nicoletti pushed open the hatch and climbed out, a string of damaged relays coiled in her arms.

Still finishing her own work at the console below, Seven stared. “You can’t possibly have completed that repair within this time-frame, Lieutenant.” she said imperiously. B’Elanna considered launching over the railing and coming to her subordinate’s defense at that, but Janeway stilled her with a hand on her shoulder. 

“Oh it’s not perfect,” Nicoletti said, passing the damaged relay parts off to an Ensign. “It’s just spit and bailing wire. Gutted what worked out of these to patch things up until we get something more permanent in place and borrowed from the surrounding systems to stabilize it all. But it’s good enough for now.” 

Seven looked up at B’Elanna and Janeway. “Explain,” she demanded as Janeway chuckled next to B’Elanna. “You can not fix these relays with _spit_ and… bailing wire.” 

“It’s a figurative expression, Seven,” Janeway said more patiently than B’Elanna was capable of. “It means an inventive, short-term way to fix something.” She smirked. “I believe it comes from humanity's most under-estimated advantages: imagination and creativity.” 

Seven looked like she wished to challenge that, but couldn’t find an appropriate argument to do so. “I will inspect this short-term solution,” she declared.

“Of course,” Janeway said, smirking. “Please inform Lt. Torres of any recommendations for future repairs.” 

Seven did an about face and strode - it was too graceful to be true stomping - to the Jefferey's tube.

“She just wants to prove her way is better,” Torres complained after the hatch had closed behind Seven.

“She’s learning,” Janeway said. “She just doesn’t want to admit it. Very common failing among young, stubborn humans. Klingons too, in my experience.” She clapped B’Elanna on the shoulder. “As you were, Lieutenant.” 

B’Elanna huffed and leaned over a nearby console, reviewing the results of the analysis Seven had just done and grudgingly admitting it was perfectly good work. “Fine, but I’m not teaching her,” she said to herself. 


	18. "You Don't See It?"

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Season 1 or 2: Chakotay and Janeway debate a name for a nebula

“Can you believe the scans estimate the longest off-shoot spans 1,900 light years across,” Janeway marveled. She and Chakotay were sitting on the Ready Room couch, celebrating a successful discovery of deuterium for the warp drive in what they had now discovered was a truly massive and uncharted nebula. Their knees touched as they both watched the bright flares and colorful gas clouds passing by outside. “This is bigger than Tarantula,” Janeway said.

“Well that does bring up an interesting point,” Chakotay raised his glass of cider towards her. “What are we going to name it?” 

“Hmmm...” Janeway considered, tilting her head to the side as she considered it. She grinned. “The Snowman Nebula.”

“Snowman?” Chakotay laughed. “How the heck do you get that?”

“Oh come on,” Janeway said. “You don’t see it?”

“No!” He laughed as she got onto her knees on the couch and pressed up next to him. She put one hand on his upper arm and draped the other across his shoulders, pointing her finger towards the viewport.

“It’s a snowman!” she insisted. “See… the head farther off there, and it slopes into the body.. Two arms. That point there is like a carrot nose…

As Chakotay moved his head to follow where she was pointing, Janeway shifted. Her lips brushed the shell of his ear as she whispered. “You see...” 

He shivered and gulped as her breath hit his neck. “Um…”

He turned towards her and their gazes locked for a split second. Their breath caught in their throats, and Chakotay watched Janeway’s eyes darken like his own. 

Then she blinked and pulled back. Her hands pulled away from him and fumbled for her glass of cider as she cleared her throat. Her cheeks were pink. “You can’t not see it,” 

He stared intently at the nebula in order to avoid looking at her. “Um. Yes. yes I see it now. It’s a good name. It’s very snowmany,” he agreed.

As soon as he was out of the ready room and off the Bridge, Chakotay slapped his face and groaned. “Snowmany,” he muttered. “Real damn smooth, Commander.”


	19. "I Can't Do This Anymore"

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kathryn advises Kes about an important decision. Post-Warlord

Kathryn Janeway settled back in her chair with a fresh cup of coffee and the book Chakotay had gotten her for her birthday. She sighed and rubbed her neck. It had been far too long of a day. 

They had gotten Kes back from Tieran with all her neural pathways and memory engrams where they should be (though Kathryn was skeptical of the Doctor’s assertion that nothing else was amiss. One didn’t go through a thing like that without consequences).

Once she had finished her coffee, she got up and walked to the replicator for a refill. As she set her cup down on the replicator, the door chimed. It was most likely Tuvok. He’d said he would check in with Kes tonight. She hoped he had an update on her state of mind. “Come,” Kathryn called as she pressed the button that would refresh her drink. 

The doors whooshed open, but she did not hear Tuvok’s greeting. Kathryn frowned and turned around. “Kes?” She asked as she identified the slim silhouette waiting in the doorway.

“Are you,” Kes wrung her hands together. “Are you busy, Captain?” 

“No! No of course not, Come in,” Janeway walked over to her, putting an arm around Kes’ shoulders and ushering her to the couch. “How are you, Kes?” she asked, sitting down next to her.

“Um…” Kes looked down, her arms now crossed in front of her. “I’m…” she looked up at Janeway, her lip wobbling. “I don’t-” she hiccuped and then suddenly her face crumbled as tears spilled forth. “I don’t know what to  _ do _ !” she sobbed.

Kathryn murmured, “Kes,” and slid close to her on the couch. She pulled Kes towards her. The young woman’s head fell onto Kathryn’s shoulder as tears stained her grey undershirt. Kathryn wrapped one arm around Kes, rubbing her back with the other. “I’m so sorry,” she murmured. “It’s going to be alright, Kes. Tieran is gone. You can get through this. I’ll help you.” 

Still crying, Kes shook her head against Kathryn’s shoulder. “It’s not T-tieran,” she gasped. “It’s Ne-Ne,” her words were lost to another harder fit of sobs and Janeway spent a while trying to calm her.

Eventually, Kes had cried herself out and pulled back. She rubbed her eyes. “S-sorry, Captain” she whispered.

“Oh none of that,” Kathryn smiled and squeezed her shoulder. “We all need a good cry now and then.” She looked around and fetched a blanket that was tucked into one of the storage compartments. She handed it to Kes, then went to the replicator. Kathryn returned with hot cocoa and a handkerchief for Kes and a coffee for herself. 

Kathryn passed a grateful Kes the handkerchief and drink. “Chocolate is a universal cure for tears,” she advised as she settled in and wrapped an arm around her young protege. 

Kes sighed and leaned into the embrace. “It’s not Tieran,” she told Janeway quietly as she stared into her cocoa. “It’s Neelix.” She sniffed. “I just… Neelix has always been there for me,” she said. “Tieran was awful and meditating with Tuvok wasn’t working. I just… I wanted to see Neelix.” She smiled a little. “He always makes me feel safe.” Then her expression crumbled again. “But… Tieran broke up with him w-while he was me. And I realized if I go to Neelix, he’ll want me to say it was just Tieran and that I had nothing to do with it, and that of course I want to stay with him…” She glanced up at Kathryn. “How do I tell him I can’t do this anymore?” She sniffed. 

Janeway ran her hand up and down Kes’ arm and regarded her with compassionate eyes. “You just have to start with that,” she said. “If he really cares about you, Kes, he’ll respect your feelings.” 

“I don’t want to hurt him,” Kes said, finally drinking some of her cocoa.

Kathryn sighed. “That is the hardest part” She smoothed back Kes’ hair. “But you have to do what is right for you, Kes. Neelix has a lot of friends on the crew. He’ll be alright.” She smiled at Kes. “Why don’t you stay here tonight,” she suggested. “I can assure you from several late nights that this couch is very comfortable.” 

Kes chuckled and nodded.

“Then tomorrow,” Kathryn encouraged her. “When you feel a bit better you can think of what you want to say to Neelix.” 

“Okay,” Kes sighed and set down her cocoa. She turned and wrapped her arms around Kathryn. “Thank you,” she whispered. 

Kathryn sighed and hugged her back tightly. “Of course,” she said. “You can always come to me.”


	20. "Did I Ask?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Takes place sometime during Endgame. Chakotay wants some answers from The Admiral.  
> Different spin on the usual confrontation. I haven't watched Endgame in a while so if this doesn't quite fit with canon, i apologize XD.

Chakotay tapped away at the keypad outside the VIP quarters, navigating his way through the encryptions blocking his override code. Some were tricky, even quite inventive, but he was intimately familiar with their inventor. It bolstered his resolve that he could still break through Admiral Janeway’s security encryptions despite the thirty some-odd years between them. Perhaps his success here would bode well for the less physical barriers he hoped to break through. 

When the last encryption had been broken, however, Chakotay hesitated. The Admiral was like the Kathryn of his time and yet not, and he was not quite sure how much of her had changed. She might not appreciate his intrusion.

He snorted softly. Kathryn didn’t appreciate his intrusions  _ now, _ but she’d yet to make good on threats to put him on report. He’d just have to take his chances.

He keyed in the final code that would open the doors, and stepped softly into the VIP quarters.

The room was cast in twilight, lit only by distant stars and the light of other viewports refracting off the ship’s shields. The imperious Admiral stood in an eerily familiar stance before the viewport: arms crossed and feet slightly apart, still in her uniform pants and undershirt. There were subtle differences to his Kathryn: her hair was a pearly white rather than a warm auburn and she bore her weight on one side, perhaps due to an injury. The cup resting on the viewport most likely held tea rather than coffee.

But there was no doubt she was still Kathryn. Her figure emanated the same deep loneliness and guilt as her present day counterpart as she brooded over the stars.

She didn’t turn as he stepped inside. “I don’t recall granting entry,” she said coolly.

Chakotay sighed. “Did I ask?” he walked up on her left, hesitating over whether to lay a comforting hand on her back. His Captain, despite enjoying it, considered it an indulgence that toed the line between what they were and what they couldn’t become. What was his relationship with this future version of her? Had she grown firmer in her adherence to protocols? He doubted it. But perhaps their friendship had eroded so much that she would not welcome a friendly touch.

Well, that was what he was here to find out. He bit the bullet. “You’ve barely said a word to me since you came on board,” he said quietly.

“Yes well, It’s been a busy few days,” she rasped and shifted slightly next to him. Her arms tightened across her chest. “It’s best that I minimize my interference with the crew from this time period.” 

“So it’s alright to tell details about the future to Seven and the Captain,” he fumed. “But you can’t trust me.” 

“Of course I trust you,” she bristled. “I have not revealed anything about the future that wasn’t necessary.” 

He snorted softly. “Why do I doubt that?” He caught the Admiral’s eyes in the viewport and watched her look away. Her shoulders shrugged and wilted slightly from their confident pose.

“Believe what you want,” she said. “I’ve told them what I need to in order to save lives… But I don’t want to be responsible for influencing your choices.” 

He frowned at her tone of voice - it carried with it a resignation and… bitterness that he had never heard from her before. He reached out and laid a hand on her back.

The Admiral shivered at his touch. 

“That doesn’t really explain why you’ve been avoiding me,” he said. “I know you’ve spoken with the Captain… Tuvok… Seven, even Tom and Harry. But you’ve barely looked at me.”

There had been one moment on the bridge the other day, she’d been leaning over the same console with him, perfectly at ease. But when he’d looked up, a strange look had passed over her face. The Admiral had paled and turned away from him, seeking a hasty retreat.

The Admiral crossed her arms more tightly but didn’t answer him. 

Chakotay frowned. “Have things changed between us in the future?” he asked

“You could say that,” the Admiral rasped.

Chakotay sighed. “We’ve had a falling out then,” he concluded glumly. “I know there’s been a distance between us... but I thought our friendship would endure.” he let his hand fall away from her back. “I was afraid you’d say that.” He sighed; the hand that had touched her back clenched as he ran the other through his hair.

“Sometimes it’s better not to know the future,” she said without looking at him.

“But I want to know,” he insisted. And in a sudden panic he stepped into her space, hands grasping her shoulders. He bent slightly to catch her gaze. “Kathryn,” he said. “Please tell me how to fix this.” 

The Admiral’s breath hitched. She stepped back and turned away from him. “You can’t,” she gasped.

“Please,” he insisted, stepping towards her. “Kathryn-”

He saw her thin frame shake and her head bow. “I…” she sobbed.

He whispered her name again and got in front of her. Starlight made the steaks of tears trailing down her face stand out sharply. Chakotay gathered her close.

She flinched at first but then crumpled towards him, burrowing her head into his chest. "Oh _Chakotay,"_ she sniffed and clutched at his shirt. “It’s my fault,” she confessed. “I’m  _ sorry.  _ I 'm sorry .” 

Chakotay looked up at the dark ceiling and felt his own tears run down his face as he tucked her head under his chin. Each admission of guilt was like a stab to the gut. Much as he wanted to believe her, he had a horrible feeling the blame rested squarely on himself.


	21. "This. This Makes it All Worth It."

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Post Endgame. could go with the last one shot but doesnt have to. It's about damn time they had this conversation.

Voyager spent her first night home in the Alpha Quadrant orbiting Earth while Starfleet cleared her for an early morning landing celebration. Chakotay couldn't sleep. Perhaps it was the muted rhythm of the ship now that the warp drive was dormant, or the lights of other ships, satellites and Earth's cities intruding through the viewports. Voyager has gotten used to being isolated. Other ships, and no warp drive signaled trouble to her battle-hardened crew.

Clearly, Chakotay thought as he finally gave up on sleep and got out of bed, being safely back in the Alpha Quadrant marked the hard-earned completion of a journey... the “actually living in it” part would come with a few growing pains.

His thoughts drifted to Seven, for she had spoken at length with him of her anxiety about their return and the unique personal challenges she would face. She was one rehabilitated borg drone among billions in the Federation who would view her with suspicion or outright fear. He hoped her Aunt would be a strong support for her and knew he wanted to be there to see that she adjusted well to Earth. Surely Kathryn would be there for her too.

Or would she? Chakotay sighed and rubbed his eyes as he dressed. He hadn’t missed the resigned, hurt look that had come over Kathryn as she’d turned to him on the bridge upon their return and seen him standing beside Seven. Somehow, she already knew about them, even though he’d tried to keep their tentative forays into dating a secret. Did that mean there was still something between Kathryn and he, despite everything they had been through in the Delta Quadrant that had forced them apart?

He found himself wandering down to sickbay, seeking B'elanna's counsel, but a quick glance inside showed him Tom and B'elanna curled up together on a biobed soundly asleep. He couldn’t wake B’elanna to talk just for this. Miral would certainly keep her from sleeping for many weeks or months yet.

Some tea, he decided, might help sooth his thoughts. He went up to the mess hall, pausing in the doorway as he took in the view out the wide, expansive viewports.

This side of the ship hovered just far enough from Earth that he could see the curve of the planet, and the radiance of white, gold, and red light as the sun crested the horizon. 

“It’s beautiful isn’t it,” 

The low rasping voice carried from the far corner of the room. His eyes found her immediately. Kathryn was curled up in the seat under the viewport, feeding a bottle to tiny Miral Paris as she gazed out at the sunrise.

“It is,” Chakotay said as he approached her slowly. “Hard to believe, but I don’t think I’ve seen a sunrise since our stay on Hanon IV, and I was in no mood to appreciate it then.” 

The bottle popped out of Miral’s mouth as she squalled. Kathryn warmly hushed her and laid her against the towel draped across her shoulder, Miral fussed, burped, and settled quickly. Chakotay’s heart warmed as he watched her brown eyes widen and fixate on the rising sun. “What a view to see on your first day in the world.” 

Kathryn sighed, looking down at Miral and then up at him. “This. This makes it all worth it.” 

Chakotay hesitantly put a hand on her shoulder and was emboldened when Kathryn covered it with hers. “All of it?” he asked.

“Yes. It has to.” She squeezed his hand. “Aren’t you happy we’re home?” 

He swallowed the lump in his throat. “Somehow I imagined it differently.” 

“So did I,” she traced the tiny ridges on Miral’s forehead. “But with the alternative… beggars can’t be choosers as they say.” 

He knew what they were really talking about. And he was sure she knew it too. His evolving relationship with Seven, if he could really call it a relationship, lingered between them. There was so much he wanted to say to Kathryn: that he was flattered by the attention, tired of waiting for more with her, tired of being alone, excited by the joy of discovery that came with a new romance. But, above all, he was hesitant that he was making the wrong choice and that in pursuing happiness, he might shatter what friendship remained between them.

“How… did you imagine it?” he asked.

She smirked humorlessly. “I think you know.” 

He sighed in frustration and removed his hand from her shoulder. She looked up at him. “Are we still playing this game?” he asked. 

Kathryn frowned. “It was never a game to me, Chakotay.” She bit her lip. “There was just too much at stake out there. I thought you knew.”

“I do… I did.” he sighed. “I’m sorry.” 

Kathryn regarded him thoughtfully. Then shifted Miral in her arms so she could pat the couch beside her. Chakotay slid into the offered spot and welcomed Kathryn stretching her legs across his lap.

They sat in silence for a few minutes, watching Miral doze as more of the sun crested the curve of the Earth and brightened the mess hall.

“We found our way home but  _ we _ got lost along the way,” Chakotay finally said.

“We’ve both changed,” Kathryn whispered. She kept her eyes on Miral rather than look at him as she asked in a small voice. “Do you still want to find our way back?” 

Chakotay didn’t have to think about it. “Yes,” he said. “I just… don’t know how.” he then thought of all the paperwork he had been inundated with nearly as soon as they’d gotten home. Between Starfleet and Seven, he didn’t know where they’d even find the time to rebuild their personal relationship. And speaking of that... “And you know about…”

“I do,” she said quietly. “I was informed it’s quite serious.” 

He blushed. “It’s… it’s not.” he tugged his ear. “It could be, I suppose. It’s only been a few dates.” he sighed. “She’s going to have a tough time integrating into life on Earth… I want to be there to support her for that at least.” He shrugged and looked down, hands resting helplessly on her knees. “I don’t know what to do.” 

“Well for now, we can’t do anything.” Kathryn laughed humorlessly. “I’m still your commanding officer.” She smiled at Miral when the infant cooed. "I know sweetheart, we've made a right mess of this, haven't we?" 

Miral squealed like she agreed and it made them both smile. 

“I think I will be staying close to this little one, for the time being," Kathryn continued. She let Miral grab her finger. “You’ve got Mommy and Daddy and some very excited grandparents vying for your attention, don’t you, sweetheart? I have to make sure I’m close by or you won’t have any time for your Godmother, will you?” She watched Miral play with her finger as she told Chakotay: “Once debriefings are over, and we all have leave or new assignments, I hope you’ll figure out what you want to do Chakotay.” she reached out and laid a hand on his. “When you do. Come see me, and we can find our way back.” 

The sun had fully risen over the Earth now, and the viewports had tinted to filter the light. It warmed their hands as he turned his over to clasp hers, feeling the sunlight warming their skin. “Thank you,” he said and felt a little of his nervousness about being back in the Alpha Quadrant ease. There was still much they had to do and much he had to sort out with Seven. But he was now comforted by this new certainty about his future with Kathryn Janeway. For he now truly believed it was no longer a matter of if, but when.


	22. "And Neither Should You

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Another humor one-shot set during "Drive."

“They’ve put a good distance between themselves and the pack,” Chakotay murmured as he and Kathryn leaned towards the large display of the race together in Astrometrics.” He leaned in closer to her. “I heard there’s high odds against the  _ Flyer _ in the official race betting pool,” he confided, grinning mischievously.

She chuckled. “How many have gone against the odds and bet on her then?” she asked.

“Only one bet when I checked. It seems our relative unknown status could work in our favor. Perhaps we ought to put a wager down. We could win a good number of supplies.”

“I don’t bet in  _ any  _ betting pools, Commander,” Kathryn said with amusement. “And neither should you.” She lowered her voice. There were officials from the other competitor races who’d elected to view on board  _ Voyager  _ as well. “It looks bad when we win handily.” 

“Is that... official ship policy?” he asked, tugging his ear. 

She raised her eyebrows. “Why… has one of the crew put down the other wager?” 

Chakotay grinned and looked over her head. “Perhaps not whom you’d expect.” 

Janeway’s eyebrows knit together and she turned around, staring at none other than Tuvok, who was watching the race status on the screen intently. “ _ You _ placed a bet, Commander?” she mock gasped. “I can’t believe it.” 

Chakotay snickered as Tuvok’s eyebrows raised. “The Commander is right, Captain,” he said. “We would win a sizable amount of supplies.” He nodded towards the screen. “I determined it was logical that Lieutenants Paris and Torres could win.” 

Kathryn gaped “Mr. Paris would be honored you have so much faith in him,Tuvok.” she then exchanged a conspiratorial grin with Chakotay. “We should comm and tell him, it might motivate him to win.” 

“I would advise against it” Tuvok said, who was now directing his intense gaze and raised eyebrows at Chakotay, as if to say:  _ now look what you’ve done.  _ “It would be more logical to keep my wager between ourselves.” 

“Logical on what grounds.” the Captain demanded.

“Mr. Paris ego does not need to be any further… encouraged.” Tuvok said, as close to begging as a Vulcan could get. “And… as he and Lt. Torres are currently in the lead, there is no need for additional incentives.” 

Janeway’s shoulders shook with laughter as she shook her head. “Fine Commander… so long as Mr. Paris stays in the lead.” 


	23. "Do We Have To?"

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just a little bit of bridge crew humor and interplanetary diplomatic misadventure.

Kathryn groaned as she hung up the comm with the Vormothan official, fingers massaging the bridge of her nose. “Mr. Kim,” she said. “Tell me the universal translator was malfunctioning.” 

“I’m afraid not Captain,” he said. 

“So I really just agreed to sit in an EV suit and listen to aquatic opera for eighteen hours.” 

“Yes, Captain.” 

She looked balefully up at Chakotay. “Do we have to?” 

He tugged his ear. “Do we need dilithium?” 

Kathryn sighed. “Unfortunately.” They’d had to scale back power for the past three weeks as they hit critical levels of dilithium reserves. Scans of the systems around them turned up nothing they could use.

Until this morning, when the Vormothans, an amphibious species who had the means to cloak their whole planet, had detected the Doctor singing in sickbay and, determining that the human species had a respectable appreciation for the vocal arts, offered  _ Voyager  _ a sizeable quantity of dilithium if the Doctor would perform in one of their underwater amphitheaters - with his commanding officers in attendance, of course.

“How bad will it look if I send Tuvok and Seven to attend?” Janeway asked. They would be much more capable of sitting through an eighteen hour concert than most of the human crew.

“I think they might consider it rude,” Chakotay said.

“I hate when you’re right.” Kathryn groaned and stood from her command Chair. “Alright. Tuvok, you have the Bridge. I need to inform the Doctor that he has to rehearse,” she waved Chakotay after her. “And figure out how to mainline me coffee through the EV suit.”

As they left the bridge Kim looked after them. “The last part was a joke, right?” 

Tuvok merely raised his eyebrows. “It would be prudent not to presume.”


	24. "Are You Kidding Me"

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> more interplanetary diplomacy with a side of male bonding.

“Are you kidding me?” Tom exclaimed as he and a number of other male crew attending the diplomatic ball down on Gerti gathered around the board posted in the mess hall. Each male-presenting crew member would would be in attendance had a dance card, which the Gertians had just sent back to Voyager, writing their names on the cards of the crew they wished to dance with.

Tom had four names on his card. And he could see most of the other men on the crew had only a few as well.

And then there was the single dance card of the lot with  _ sixteen  _ of its eighteen slots full. Tom and the other men around him gaped at it. “What does Chakotay have that I don’t have?” 

“Maybe Gertian’s like... facial tattoos,” Harry shrugged.

“It’s the shoulders,” Mike Ayala shrugged. “Women go for that.” 

“I have shoulders!” Tom sputtered. 

“Could be age,” Gerron added glumly. His card had only two names on it. “Maybe Gertians like men with experience.”

The crewmen around him guffawed, and Gerron flushed crimson. “Not like that! I mean like wisdom” 

“Sure you did,” Mike teased as he elbowed Gerron. 

“Excuse me gentlemen,” 

They all jumped and stood to attention as they heard the Captain’s voice behind them. She eyed them all amused. “I’m glad you're all enthusiastic about diplomacy,” she said. “The Gertians attending have confirmed their selection of partners for the dances, so now our crew will have a chance to sign up.” They watched her walk up to the board and review it before adding her name in the last two slots on Chakotay’s dance card, and the seventh one on Tuvok’s. “It would probably be best not to crowd the board,” she advised. “Our female crew might think all the spots have been filled and be deterred from signing up.” She pat Tom and Harry on their shoulders as she passed. “Carry on.” 

Tom bit his lip, racking his hand through his hair. He turned around and asked: “is it the tattoo, Captain?” 

She turned around, one eyebrow raised. “I beg your pardon, Mr. Paris?” she asked. 

“Well,” he waved a hand at the board, totally missing Harry’s eyes pleading with him to stop talking, “we’ve just noticed some ah... patterns in the Gertians’ dance card sign-ups.”

Janeway took another look at the board and he could see her trying to stifle her amusement. “I’d advise you all not to rush and petition for body-art uniform exceptions.” She turned around and said, over her shoulder. “I can assure you; it has nothing to do with the tattoo.” 

She didn’t see, but Gerron’s face went even redder, for though she had surely not heard the earlier banter, he had it fresh in his mind. Ayala caught the uncomfortable look on his face and snickered. “So it’s the ah... 'experience' then.” 

Gerron moaned. “I meant wisdom!"


	25. "Sometimes You Can Even See."

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A few years Post-Endgame, will Kathryn make it back from her latest mission in time for Christmas?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Many of you have asked when I'm going to get around to a follow up to Ch 4. "That Didn't Stop You Before." This is not the follow up, but I imagine it lives in the same version of the multiverse.  
> The follow up will be coming sometime in the next few chapters. If you have the list of prompts, you might be able to guess. ;)

The stars were especially numerous and bright in Indiana’s clear, winter skies. Chakotay shivered in his sweater as he stepped out onto the porch and took in the serene view. It was nothing like the awe-inspiring sight of a star from orbit or a close-up of a nebula. But, like Christmas carols with his in-laws and the frigid, snowy winters, he had grown very fond of it. 

“Did you get a comm from the _Vesta_ yet?” a small voice asked from the porch steps. He and Kathryn’s five-year-old son, Tonauak, was sitting on the top step, a small telescope trained up on the night sky. 

“Not yet,” Chakotay said and walked to the him. He crouched next to his son to avoid sitting on the freezing porch. “Remember, I said their mission got extended. Mommy knew she might not be home in time for Christmas, so she left you a video for tonight and tomorrow.” He put an arm around Tonauak. 

“But it’s Christmas,” the little boy said stubbornly, lowering the telescope and looking pleadingly at his father. “Can’t Mommy order them to come home?”

Chakotay sighed. “Sometimes she can,” he said, pulling his son closer when he felt him shiver. “But this time she had a lot of people to help… families who won’t get to celebrate their holidays unless Vesta can finish her mission.” he kissed Tonauak’s messy black hair. “Once she knows they’re all safe, then she’ll be home.” 

Tonauak pouted and turned the telescope over in his hands. “Okay,” he said in a soft, dejected voice.

Chakotay looked down at his son and wished he had something better to tell him. The rescue mission the Vesta had undertaken two weeks ago had been one on which, Kathryn’s expertise with nebulae and temporal anomalies was sorely needed. They’d both hoped she’d be home by now but, when the mission had been extended, they’d known it wasn’t likely. 

Vesta’s communications had also been knocked out mid-mission. Command had told him they were alright, but communicating with Kathryn wouldn’t be possible until the ship was back in for repairs. It meant they had no communication with Kathryn, and only a vague idea when she’d be home.

So now it was left to Chakotay to help their son enjoy the holidays without his mother.

Tonauak raised his telescope again, pointing it towards Orion. Chakotay ruffled his hair.

“You know,” he told his son, “If you look over there,” he turned the telescope towards the bright, blinking light off to the southwest. “You can see McKinley station… if you’re lucky sometimes you can even see the ships sailing into dock.” 

Tonauak frowned. “They just look like little bugs,” he frowned as he squinted through the scope.

Chakotay chuckled. “Try this setting,” he said softly, adjusting the telescope.

Tonauak gasped in delight. He was his parents son in many ways, but his developing love for star-ships was no doubt his godfather, Tom’s doing. “There’s a Miranda class,” he declared.

“How can you tell?” Chakotay asked, smiling proudly. 

“The rounder saucer,” he said. “And the nacelles are on the bottom.” He squinted. “It’s upside down.” 

“It’s got its own artificial gravity, so if you were on the ship you’d feel right side up.” 

Tonauak furrowed his brows. “Then I could walk on the ceiling,” 

“Only if there was a very strange system malfunction,” Chakotay chuckled.

They sat together for a while longer, Tonauak observing McKinley station and Chakotay enjoying the stars and considering how long before he could convince Tonauak to come in for dinner rather than wait out all night for Kathryn.

When the wind picked up, Chakotay felt Tonauak shiver. He could see the boy’s ears and fingers starting to redden, and decided he’d indulged him as long as was wise. “Okay, Tonauak,” he rubbed his back “What do you say we go in and see if Granny will make us some hot chocolate, hmm?” 

“I’m not cold,” Tonauak protested. “You can go in. I’ll stay,” he pressed the telescope against his eyes. “There’s a new ship coming. I want to watch it go to the station.”

Chakotay sighed. Without the scope he could see the faint blinking light Tonauak was following. “It will take a long time to dock,” he cautioned. “Your Mom will be home soon,” he promised. “But probably not today. She wouldn’t want you to stay out here all night.”

“But it’s a big ship!” Tonauak protested, he looked pleadingly up at Chakotay; his teeth chattered. “It c-could b-be Mommy’s” 

Chakotay shook his head. “It’s probably the _Marseilles_ ,” he told his son. “She’s due to complete her shakedown cruise tonight.” He hugged Tonauak as the boy’s face fell and kissed his forehead. “Let’s go inside,” Chakotay suggested. “And we can ask Command if they can show us the _Vesta’s_ flight plan, okay?” 

Tonauak nodded, standing when Chakotay did, the telescope fell to his side. “Okay.” 

They were both turning back towards the house when Chakotay saw something out of the corner of his eye: a shimmer of a transporter beam at the end of the drive. 

Tonauak whipped around when he saw it and stared wide-eyed as a figure appeared. The porch lights didn’t reach far enough to see the person clearly. He stood on his tip-toes and pressed his hand to Chakotay’s communicator. “T-tonauak to Admiral Janeway,” he asked.

The reply came through the communicator and from the person walking up the drive. “Janeway here.” 

Tonauak squealed. “ _Mommy_!” His small body launched off the porch and bounded across the snowy lawn. 

Chakotay grinned and followed him, as Tonauak leapt towards Kathryn. For a moment, he was worried their growing son might knock her over. But Kathryn caught him with barely a stumble. She grunted as she hefted the boy onto her hip.

“Oh you are getting too big for this,” she lamented as she adjusted her arms to hold him more comfortably. 

Tonauak had wrapped his arms and legs around her. “You’re home,” he mumbled into the shoulder of her uniform. 

Kathryn’s eyes found Chakotay as he wrapped his arm around them both. She grinned at him. “I’m home.” She kissed Tonauak’s head. “Merry Christmas, baby.”


	26. "How About You Trust Me for Once"

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> set immediately after the Season 2 episode "Resistance" Tuvok is suspicious of Chakotays intentions towards his Captain.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> digging a little bit into a character dynamic I havent explored much - early relations between Chakotay and Tuvok. Not sure of their characterization here. let me know what you think!

When Beta shift took over the Bridge once they were well-away from the Mokra Order’s vessels, Chakotay gratefully ceded command to Ayala and went to check on Torres. He spent a few hours with her ensuring her wellbeing. Upon finally leaving her in the mess hall with Harry and a stack of banana pancakes for comfort, he asked the computer for the Captain’s location.

“Captain Janeway is in the ready room.” 

He frowned. She was meant to have retired to her quarters to rest once the reports from their incident with the Mokra Order had been wrapped up. He tapped his combadge. _“Chakotay to Janeway.”_

The computer replied. _“The Captain’s status is ‘Do Not Disturb.’ Would you like to contact the Executive Officer?”_

“You’re speaking to him,” he sighed, brow furrowing as he thought. Tom’s report had filled in some of the details that the Captain had left out of her own, and had clearly demonstrated that her experience with the Mokra Order had been more upsetting than she’d let on since returning to the ship. 

Making a decision, Chakotay went up to the Bridge, stopping by his quarters briefly to replicate a bottle of whiskey and, after brief consideration, a box of tissues. 

Things were calm on the Bridge when he arrived. He noted Tuvok had clearly brushed off the Doctor's orders and taken command. Ayala was now managing Tactical. “Status?” he asked.

Tuvok stood from the Captain’s chair and turned to face him. He replied: “The Mokra's ships have fallen back.” 

Chakotay nodded. “Let’s keep a look out for their scout ships on our periphery," he said, and shook his head when Tuvok moved to give him the Captain’s chair. “As you were.” He left the bridge, moving to the back entrance of the Ready Room out of sight of the bridge officers. He busied himself trying to find a way to override the lock.

“Commander?” Tuvok’s voice came from behind him as he heard the doors to the Bridge open. Chakotay continued his work with the Ready Room’s keypad. “The Captain wishes not to be disturbed.” 

“I’m not here to talk about work, Tuvok, relax” Chakotay said. “Just want to make sure she’s alright.” 

“I am capable of providing a listening ear and reassurance should she require it.” Tuvok sounded rather testy for a Vulcan. 

Chakotay snorted and shook his head. He leveled a challenging gaze at Tuvok. “I’m sure you are,” he said. “But I know what it's like to fight an enemy like the Mokra. I know the games they play with people. And I think right now, I can offer a bit more than a sympathetic ear and reassurance." He turned back to the door.

Tuvok startled him when he reached out and grabbed Chakotays wrist. "I should remind you that I am well aware of many of the tactics you employed to gain power and information against the cardassians. And your relatively larger background of command experience," Tuvok said softly. "If you so chose, you could seek to use these circumstances to undermine the Captain… to erode her confidence or even gain more power over command decisions. The logic in such an opportunity is easy to determine." He tightened his grip. "I will not allow that to occur."

Chakotay raised his eyebrows, he tamped down his anger at Tuvok, reminding himself that while he appeared unaffected by his recent experiences as a prisoner, he had clearly also been through an ordeal. "Your logic is flawed," he said calmly. "Like it or not, you and I are on the same side now. I may still be at odds with the Federation's choices. But the wellbeing of this ship, and my Captain - to that I'm 100% committed." he jerked his arm free of Tuvok's grip. "Now, how about you trust me for once."

Tuvok lowered his hand and shouldered past Chakotay. "This is the security override, for this specific room," he said, typing into the padd. 

"I can still hack through any security you have," Chakotay smirked. "I haven't though. That change your logic about my intentions at all?"

Tuvoks nostrils flared slightly, the only sign that this irked him, and the back door of the ready room swished open.

"Not now, Tuvok" Captain Janeway sighed. She was sitting at her desk, head bowed and one hand pressed to her forehead. 

"Not Tuvok," Chakotay said as the doors closed behind him.

"Commander!" 

Tuvok put his ear to the door. He wanted to make sure permitting this was not an egregious lapse in judgement.

"I thought you could use a drink," Chakotay said. "One resistance fighter to another."

"Oh Chakotay, I appreciate it," Janeway said. "But I have a bit more work to do right now"

"I can handle the rest of the reports and debriefing," Chakotay said. "Come on - dont let my rations go to waste."

Tuvok heard the Captain sniff. "Fine. One drink." He heard the clink of glasses and the clacking if her heels moving to the couch.

A few minutes later he heard the Commander's voice. "Tell me about Caylem,"

He was listening for his Captain's reply when the lift doors opened. Tom Paris breezed through. "Hey - Tuvok," he said rather insolently. He eyed the closed ready room doors. "Eavesdropping?"

"No," Tuvok said flatly. "You are off duty, Mr. Paris,"

"I am, and I am graciously assisting O'Donnell with some complicated course adjustments." He grinned. "Ain't Ayala in command if you're out here?" He counted off bridge officers on his fingers. "You know counting me thats a majority Maquis bridge… seems like youre slipping, Chief."

"Watch your tone, Mr. Paris" Tuvok said. "The Captain has approved all bridge staffing decisions."

Paris snorted. "Did you hear that through the door too?" he asked and raised his hands in mock surrender. "Just saying."

Paris walked through the opening doors of the Bridge before Tuvok could determine how he might explain putting him in the brig to the Captain.

Tuvok leaned in to the ready room door again, now considering that while this was logical in a way, it did violate certain deeply held ethics. His eyes flicked to the bridge doors. Perhaps a majority Maquis shift was the larger security threat. If Chakotay had been truthful, he would only benefit the Captain. If he had lied, he would surely forgo any plans to undermine the Captain tonight so as not to attract more of Tuvok's suspicion. 

Meanwhile. A Maquis was in charge of the bridge, and a hooligan was controlling the helm.

Tuvok did not yet trust Chakotay. But perhaps he could afford to give him the benefit of the doubt... for now.


	27. "Give Me That"

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Set in the days following "Killing Game". the ship needs massive repairs following the mess left by the hirogen. a certain Captain is on her last legs after days of repairs. and shes getting on her Chief Engineer's last nerve.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> B'elanna may get away with a tad too much insubordination here... tell me what you think!

B'elanna stormed into Engineering from her 3 am dinner, royally ticked off. Carey was at her heels.

"Ch-Chief come on," he hissed. "It's the Captain's-"

"If you say Captain's prerogative one more time, Carey, I'm going to shove your foot in your mouth for you!" B'elanna snapped. All her staff had turned quickly to look at her as she barged in. She jerked her thumb towards the doors and raised her voice. "Five minutes!" she ordered. Both levels of Engineering were vacated quickly.

"I still don't think this is wise," Carey persisted.

"Leave with them or shut up," she ordered. He was her deputy. He might as well learn something. 

She zeroed in on the figure who was kneeling in front of the crashed energy conversion unit with tools around her and engineering grease and smoke from burnt out parts streaked on her freckled face and gunking up her auburn hair. 

B'elanna glared and stalked up to her.  "Give me that!" she said, ignoring the four pips signalling the Captain outranked her and wrenching the tool out of her hand. "What the hell are you doing?"

Kathryn Janeway snorted and shook her head. "I have every right to lend a hand in my engine room,  _ Lieutenant _ ."

"Oh dont give me that crap," B'elanna huffed. "It is the middle of gamma shift. I pulled double duty in here already today and I know you pulled double duty on the bridge. I don't care if you've taught all the others that its the Captain's fucking prerogative to do whatever she wants. Also. This -" she waved the hypospanner around. "Is  _ my e _ ngine room. And I am not going to entrust crucial repairs to a sub-par Engineer!"

The Captain gaped at her. "Well...I guess we've blown permission to speak freely out the airlock." she said, blinking heavily. The Captain trained her infamous death glare on B'elanna, which made Carey whimper nervously behind them. 

B'elanna though didn't flinch. She could see the heavy bags under the Captain's eyes and could practically smell the stress and fatigue under the engine grease and sweat.  "Youve been wandering in here while we should both be sleeping, I might add, ever since the Hirogen left us drifting out here a week ago." She waved the hypospanner at her shocked Captain. "And you might think you're helping. But your working 30% slower than my most junior engineers. Now either go to sleep, or check yourself into sickbay for a sleep aid. I don't care how many pips you have. No one sleep deprived touches my engines. Ah-buh-buh!" she matched Kathryn glare for glare. "You told Harry the same damn thing yesterday."

"I might be slower," the Captain insisted, standing so she didn't have to look up at B'elanna. "But I have yet to make a mistake and half the crew is still recovering from injures. So I think you ought to count every extra hand as a blessing." Rather than reach for the tool B'elanna had stolen, Janeway grabbed a spare one from her pocket. "We're sitting ducks until weve got full shields and warp power back."

Belanna groaned. "What good is that gonna do us if our Captain can't be on the bridge because she's killed herself from exhaustion?" she massaged the ridges over her nose. "Go the fuck to sleep, so I can hand this over to Carey, Captain. You can come back in the morning and help, okay?"

The Captain huffed. "I ought to put you on report for this, Lieutenant."

"Fine. Go ahead. In eight hours." B'elanna crossed her arms as Janeway put away her spare hypospanner, stretched her tense shoulders.

Janeway looked back at the incomplete repair. "I just need a co-"

"I  _ will _ call Chakotay," B'elanna said.

Janeway glared. "No need to call in the cavalry, Lieutenant. You make a good point." She made her way slowly, with heavy steps, to the exit. Janeway then noticed Carey, who was standing stiffly at attention by the main doors. "Well Mr. Carey, I don't think I've gotten a dressing down like that since I was a cadet. Anything you would like to add, permission to speak freely, of course."

"No, Sir- ma'am-Captain." His face was turning crimson, and he let out a long suffered sigh. "I will personally take over the energy converter repair in your steed, Captain"

"Which is the polite way of saying you agree with Lt. Torres," Janeway smirked.

Carey looked quite stressed. "I'm sorry, Captain!"

"Don't be," she chuckled hoarsely and covered a yawn with her hand. "If my Chief Engineer can't speak frankly with me, then they're saving my pride at the expense of the ship…" She turned around and glared at B'elanna, 'although they could stand to offer their thoughts with a bit more tact.'"

Belanna snorted and shook her head. "Goodnight, Captain." 

"Yes-yes," Janeway waved her off. "I'm going." She turned back to Carey. "Careful with the primary converter coil. The linkages have had a lot of extra wear and tear from the excessive power funneled into the holodecks. I'd recommend reinforcing them before replacing the coil."

" _ Goodnight, Captain! _ " Torres called.

Janeway glared. "I may be tired, but I still know my ship," she said. She turned back to Carey. "And make sure Lt. Torres goes to bed as well, I'm holding you responsible."

"Y-yes, Captain. Goodnight, Captain" Carey paled. "I - mean-"

"Goodnight, Lieutenants," Janeway said with some amusement. S he stepped towards the doors. 

They opened onto a crowd of anxious junior engineers and her First Officer, who was leaning against the wall with his arms crossed.

"Oh not you too!" Janeway exclaimed, patting his shoulder as he escorted her out of the crowd. "I was going to turn in once the coil was done."

"I'm sure," Chakotay said. "But you can check their work in the morning." He handed her a mug of soothing tea, and she wrinkled her nose at the smell.

"You shouldn't have wasted rations on this," she said. "I'd rather have coffee."

"It is this or a sleep aid," Chakotay said as they reached the lift. "Pick your poison." 

She scowled but drank it. The lines on her brow relaxed as her eyes drooped closed. "Am I setting a bad example?"

Chakotay tugged his ear. "Only if the crew weren't already inclined to work over time," he said. "I think we all want to get out of Hirogen space as soon as possible." He brushed the hair out of her face. "you've counseled a lot of the crew on the need to get their rest between shifts… they're following your advice for the most part. We just think you should too."

Kathryn sighed. "I know you're right" she rubbed her eyes. "Who has the bridge."

"I do." The lift arrived on deck three. "Get some rest." Chakotay said softly. "I'll hold down the fort."

"I know you will." Janeway smiled and touched his chest. "Alright… goodnight, Chakotay."


End file.
